The Stamper

Established Elegance then and now page

My next scrap class is just around the corner and I thought I might share with you a page from a previous class.  This page was create with Stampin' Up! Established Elegance stamp set and Comfort Cafe Designer Series paper.  

The vision I have for this page is a page about a part of your life that has changed dramatically from a certain point in your life.  Like: life before kids, life after a major move, life before and after marriage, etc.  You get the idea.  

The papers were layed on top of each other each one cut 1" smaller than the first.  Then cut a wave in the center and you have the accent papers for each page.  I cut frames using chipboard and the peek a boo window die from last year and these were sponged to create the accents.  

You can always check out my stampin site for some retire products in the clearance rack; Go to http://wendythestamper.stampinup.net

Grad Hat from petal cone Big Shot Die

My friend, Wendy shared this cute graduation hat box that a friend had shared with her, with me.  Sharing is so much fun!

With all the graduations in my life this year I just loved this little box.  It was simple to make and the perfect box to hold a little something for a graduate in your life. 

To create the box, cut black or any color cardstock into 2 pieces 5 1/2 x 8 1/2, lay these cardstock pieces onto the petal cone die so that the rounded edges of the die are covered by cardstock, the pieces will not fit the whole die but that does not matter it is just the top part of the die you want. (cutting one layer at a time is best because of the score lines on this die)  After cutting box pieces, you want to score below the petal cone score lines one inch.  Now, glue the box flaps to each other and fold on score lines.  Tuck the petal or round piece together and then glue the opposite ends together.  You will now cut a 3 x 6 piece of black cardstock and fold it in half and glue over the back part of the box.  And white cardstock that was cut using the petal cone die and loosen the fibers with a bone folder, attach this piece to the top of the card with a antique brad.  Add 2 3/4" pieces of white cardstock to the inside of the card to cover the back of the brad and so you can write a simple message of congrats. 

To order Big Shot and Petal cone die go to my Stampin' web site: http://wendythestamper.stampinup.net

Big Shot Quilting

While I was in Utah for graduations I had the opportunity to visit with one of my good friends who is also a Stampin' Up! demonstrator.  It is always fun to network and share ideas.  Her name is Wendy also and she has been doing a lot of teaching of quilting with Big Shot dies.  These quilts are fun and easy to make, even people who have not quilted before can successful make a quilt. 

The quilt Wendy made was done with large squares of fabric which you sew together in strips and then the strips together.  Then using the Big shot and scallop square die, you cut fabric squares and glue them over the corners of the large squares using Stampin' Up!'s glue sticks.  Repeat the process with the fun flower die and then take your quilt to a long are quilter and she will quilt the patterns into your quilt.  After you wash the quilt the edges of the die cut images rag up and create a old worn look that is so charming. 

To order the Big Shot and dies go to my Stampin' Web site: http://wendythestamper.stampinup.net

Mixed Bunch flower card with embossed butterfly

I was designing scrapbooking pages and loved the idea I came up with so I created a card using the same colors and techniques.  I will show the scrap pages at a later date, they are for my April class that will be held April 14th.  This card was created using the Mixed Bunch stamp set by Stampin' Up!.  This flower set is available for at least the month of April and then the mini catalog will be retired and we will have to wait and see if it makes it in the main catalog.  If you love the flower images in this stamp set you can order today at my Stampin' Site: http://wendythestamper.stampin.net

The card is Certainly Celery cardstock, I folded a 8 1/2x 5 1/2 piece of cardstock in half then tore off the front edge and added a piece of Wisteria Wonder cardstock.  I then torn the edge of a 5 1/4 x 3 1/4" Whisper White cardstock.  Stamp the flower image on white cardstock and punch using the matching punch Blossom.  I added a 3/4" circle center from scrap designer series paper.  I also stamped an image from the Mixed Bunch stamp set on certainly celery cardstock and folded in to look like a leaf.  Cut 1/4" celery cardstock for the stem and glue these piece to the front of your card.  The greeting was stamped using Wisteria Wonder ink and punched with oval punches. 

The butterfly was die cut and embossed using the Big Shot and the Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die.  I tied the middle with Baker's twine and glued it to the card.  To order from the mini catalog before these items retire go to my Stampin' Site: http://wendythestamper.stampinup.net

Strawberries and Strawberry Basket

These cute little strawberries boxes will capture your heart and you will like making them even though they take a little time.  Using cardstock, a big shot and texture impression die and the flower fold die you can create a little box that holds a chocolate kiss or other small treat.

  But don't stop there create a little basket to hold them using Stampin' Up!'s wood sheets found on page 216 of the main catalog under Base Materials for your Big Shot.  
This little basket was shown to me by Laree Stewart, one of my creative downline at a retreat a few years back.  After making a few of these strawberries I glanced up at my creative shelf and spotted her box and the two were a perfect match. 
To make the strawberries you can check out this tutorial by selecting this link. 

To make the box, you use: Eight 1/2" x 6" strips of wood sheets. These are weaved together in the middle of the strips, 4 one direction 4 the other, then squeeze them together and bend the remaining ends upward, now weave Two 1/2 x 9 1/2" strips around the strips that are poking upward, the ends of each strip place a glue dot so when you add the rim a 9 1/2" x 3/4" piece of the wood sheets you can attach the ends of the woven basket to it.  The rim was colored with Chocolate chip ink using a sponge.  Add little ribbon handles with brads and a mini tag for decoration.  I also crimped small strips of crumb cake paper for basket filler. 

To order the Big Shot and dies needed for this project you can go to my Stampin' Web site: http://wendythestamper.stampin.net

Framelits Dies for simple card

In Stampin' Up!'s Occasions mini catalog they came out with Framelits dies collections.  They have a heart collection and the Labels Collection I used for this card. 

These are thin, wafer-like dies that you can cut different sizes of the same shape to create frames or to be used like I did here as a base for my image.  You can stamp first then place the Framelits die over stamped image so you get the perfect placement or just cut out a stamped image and place it over the die cut cardstock.  No matter how you use these dies I am sure you will love them. 

I will show you other samples in the future.  This simple card was made with Crumb Cake cardstock, added a scrap of the striped designer series paper pack Everyday Enchantment.  I die cut a framelits from Peach Parfait carstock and added a very vanilla oval punched image.  Added my cut of blooms from the stamp set Bordering on Romance and a punched Baja Breeze cardstock strip using the Dotted Scallop lace ribbon punch.  The words are stamped from one of my favorite stamp set in the Occasions catalog Loved Ones.  It has these great images that attach to the family words that are so much fun to use. 

Don't forget just a couple more days left to order during Stampin' Up!'s sale-a-bration.  Order now at my stampin' site: http://wendythestamper.stampinup.net

 

Bordering on Romance

This month I created this scrapbook page for one of my scrapbooking classes.  I loved how it turned out and used it for my daughter's senior book I am working on.  I still need to add a title and journaling but I won't be working on it again for a while so I thought I would show you how it turned out anyway. 

I used Stampin' Up!'s Sale-a-bration paper pack Everyday Enchantment. I have loved designing and working with this paper pack.  It can look really frilly like this two page spread or less girly like the truck page I showed last week. 

I used one full sheet of the darkest color and trimmed it by 1/2" on one side, I then cut 2" off the sheet and glued one sheet to one page and the other sheet to the other one.  I tucked coordinating cardstocks accents under these two sheets.  The accent image was done using Designer Frames Textured Impressions Embossing Folders, now that is a mouthful.  These are great little frames you can emboss into your cardstock using the Big Shot.  I love the way they look, they make a terrific frame for the Bordering on Romance stamped image.  I stamped it with Early Espresso ink and colored it using chalks and a q-tip.  Chalking use to be my favorite way to color and I got out of the habit of using them so it was fun to color with chalks again. 

I finished the page off by stamping the long flower stamp image with Very Vanilla craft ink and added a simple bow tied using the 1/8" organdy ribbon that comes in the Everyday Enchantment ribbon and brad pack. 

You can earn several of these items for free, when you order before Sale-a-bration ends of March 31st at my stampin' site:  http://wendythestamper.stampinup.net

 

Gifts for Friends

One of the hard things about living in Saudi Arabia is the shopping.  Because women don't drive you can't just jump in the car and drive yourself to the store, you have to take a bus or hire a driver to take you.  The buses runs 2 times in the morning and a few times at night.  Most stores are closed in the middle of the afternoon.  Drivers have to be called in advance, so no I forgot I have a birthday party tonight runs to the store.  And then what store?  We have very nice malls here but they are expensive and I am not much of a mall shopper, the souks are fun but don't carry great youth gifts.  So when my daughter have a birthday party coming up we have found ourselves creating fabulous gifts for them from whatever stuff I have on hand. 

That is what happened this week, we made birthday gifts.  Both girls had parties and the three of us had such fun creating something special for their friends.  Chay made Kim a file folder notebook holder and a paper purse for the dark chocolate Kim loves.  The notebook was created from a file folder, by scoring pocket and cutting part of it off you have a great place to put a notebook, you could even tuck a few envelopes in the other pocket.  We decorated the notebook and pen to match, added butterfly accents using Stampin' Up!'s stamp set Butterfly Prints.  We used discontinued Stampin' Up! papers because it is what we had but any Designer Series papers would have worked great.  Red is Kim's favorite color so this was perfect for us. 

We wanted to create a matching paper purse and we made a card that matched as well.  The purse is one piece of Designer Series papers, score both sides at 2 1/2 inches, then turn 1/4 of a turn and score these 4 inches from both ends.  The tricky part is on both ends, both outsides; you fold the 4" score line up to the 2 1/2" score line creating a 2 1/2" diagonal fold, this allows you to put stuff into the middle section and creates the purse affect. 

to finish the purse, fold the 2 1/2 ends in and add 2" x 7" piece of cardstock folded in half to the end of the purse.  We also added a Round Tab punched from Stampin' Up!'s Round Tab punch.  Finished it off with a rhinestone and white gel pen stitching.  We also added her name that was cut using the Big Shot and Stampin' Up! Timeless Type Junior and butterflies from the Butterfly Prints Stamp set. 

These gifts were the hit of the party which made Chay feel really good about what she created.

Remember you can order anytime from my Stampin' Web site: http://wendythestamper.stampinup.net

Pennant and Pleating Page

Pennant and pleating page, try saying that over and over really fast!!! This past fall I created this page for Halloween or whatever, since my girls are getting older and they don't trick or treat anymore (when did I become so old that I don't have little kids anymore!) I decided to use this page for the whatever.  I also created it this way because of the culture I now live in there are several of the ladies that  I scrapbook with don't even celebrate this holiday. 

I wanted to use the new simply scored scoring tool and so we created these fan flowers.  I did use jumbo glue dots to hold them together and would love suggestions on other ways you have glued these so they stay together long term.  I added a 3/4" circle punch plus 1/2" punch and tiny flower punch and a rhinestone as the center of these blossoms.  For the second page I created a pocket for extra pictures and balanced it with Stampin' Up! Perfect Pennants Bigz L Die and another blossom.  The die works great for scrapbooking pages because of it's size.  I added the scallop border by punching a strip of cardstock with the scallop punch and then glued it to the underside of the pennant clipping the tip so it matches. The gray paper was stamped with an stamp image to create the wallpaper look. 

To order the pennant die and/or the simple scored scoring tool check out my Stampin' Site:  http://wendythestamper.stampinup.net

Love Christmas Scrap Page

I love Christmas! I think it is because my family (and/or friends who have become like family) gather together, we laugh, debate which movie to watch or sleep through if you are my parents, we do traditional activities like Christmas Eve dinner and program where we sing, read the Christmas story and play games together, we make Carol rolls to deliver to friends, make homemade chocolates and other treats.  We spend weeks making or picking out gifts for each other and enjoy thinking about those we love as we create a gift we think they will love.  I think I love Christmas because of the feeling it gives me to know my Savior and of the ultimate gift He has given me and everyone who lives. 

This year I saw a scrap page that I used to create this two page spread we made at a class I taught in December.  The title caught my eye because of all reasons I listed above but I also love the Big Shot tags that are photo frames.  I think Stampin' Up!'s Letter to Santa paper made this page look like a combination between modern and traditional in just the right way. I also loved the Quick Accents sheet Letter to Santa that I used for borders.  I cut a sheet into 3" pieces and used the different strips on some of the squares.  I have never thought of Blushing Bride as a Holiday color but it is a beautiful background color that allows the traditional holiday colors to pop.  I used Stampin' Up!'s 25 & Counting stamp set and the postage and 1" square punches to add the final accents. 

You can order these products to create this and other Christmas pages from my Stampin' Site: http://wendythestamper.stampinup.net  and while you are there check out all the new product in the Occasions Mini catalog. 

Holiday Projects

The Holidays are quickly approaching and we actual have had a few cool days that feel like fall or winter.  It is the Eid Holiday here in Arabia which is their New Year so Ted has been home and we have been doing some fun things around home.  I will write about Sand rose digging and our trip to Baharain but today I wanted to share our "cold" weather experience last night. 

We had some friends invite us to a movie on the soccer fields that turned out to be on the cricket field instead.  It was great fun, they attached a sheet to an end post and projected the movie up onto the sheet.  We all brought chairs and popcorn and last night we had blankets, long sleeves, hats, socks and shoes and we still went home cold. 

Now I know for you in other parts of the world what we expeienced last night would not be cold but when you are used to over 100* weather 60 and 70 feels cold.  The crispness reminded me of the holidays and my upcoming Holiday class.  We will be making 2 cards and a 3-d sock.  The sock and card I copied from projects shown at convention this summer.  They both have a lot of glitter on them and I added glitter to my Holiday card.  When Ted saw the projects he said, are you teaching a glitter class?  I guess I am. 

I do like the glitter paper in both red and white, the best part is you don't get glitter anywhere because it stays on the paper.   The sock is created with the Big Shot and the new Holiday Stocking Die you can find in the Holiday mini catalog.   To order go to my Stampin' Web site:  http://wendythestamper.stampinup.net  and create your own cold weather projects.

Fabric is not just for sewing!

Stampin' Up! has their own line of fabric and it is not just for sewing, you can create great projects and even cards using fabric.  This card was created by Jan and she the Big Shot to cut out a Top Note from fabric and cardstock.  You can glue fabric with Stampin' Up! glue sticks, they work great.  I liked that she also ran the fabric through the Big Shot again and textured it with the Square Lattice Textured impression embossing folder. 

The ribbon and button make a great accent to bring your eye to the 3 birds that are found in Stampin' Up!'s Clearly for You stamp set that was punched using the Decorative Label Extra Large punch that can also be found in the Occasions Mini catalog.  Whether you want to create a sewing project or a card check out Stampin' Up!'s fabric line at my web site: http://wendythestamper.stampinup.net

Make your own Party Hats!

   Make my own party hats was just what I wanted to do for a Relief Society Birthday party social I was in charge of.  I looked around on the web and just could not find the look I was going for, so I sat down and created the size and designs and look that was in my head.  I loved how they turned out and all the ladies at the social was surprised that they were handmade. 

It is hard to get great supplies for birthday parties and one lady said, "Can I hire you to make my son's next birthday hats!" I was so glad that they loved them as much as I loved making them.  I looked around and found a small pattern on Stampin' Up! demonstrator pattern site and so I had a general idea on the shape.  These are made using a 12x12 piece of cardstock and basically cutting one corner off and I punched a circle from the top so I could add the fluff poking out of the top of the hats.  

I then added sticky strip to the rim of the hat and then pleated ribbon to the edge.  For some of the other hats I ran pieces of cardstock through the paper crimper several times until it was flexible and then I pleated it like I did the ribbon.  I would suggest that you use your sewing machine and stitch the ribbon or paper ribbon to the bottom of the hat because it tends to pull away over time.  Unless you are only going to use them for a couple of hours then that step is not necessary. 

  Most of the hats I used for table decorations so I did not add the ribbon stings to tie the hat onto your head with but one was to be worn.  I wanted the hat to be stable so I put jumbo eyelets on each side to tie the ribbon to.  

To finish the main hat I die cut a flower using the Big Shot machine and the Flower die and the Scallop Circle #2 die.  I dampened the paper with water then crunched it into a ball, carefully opening it.  I added a large button center.  I was making this for a friend, Donna, to wear and she is a party girl. So full of life and laughter and so I wanted her hat to sparkle like her personality so I add jewels to the hat which is just the right finishing touch.

While the hat is still flat add the curled ribbon or straight pieces of cardstock and designer paper that poke out the top.  I used liquid glue to stick these in and to glue the hat closed.  It just seemed to work better, but remember when using this glue you want to use as little as possible so it dries quicker and does not squish out the seam and get all over your fingers. 

To curl the ribbon I used a bone folder and pulled strips of paper and cardstock like you would ribbon on a present.  Then I twirled them around my finger to create a tighter look. 

Each hat is different and I loved making them all.  If you want to create hats like mine you can order the supplies at my Stampin' Web site: http://wendythestamper.stampinup.net 

I used: Big Shot item# 113439 (if you have ever thought of purchasing a Big Shot, the month of March is a great time because you will qualify for Sale-a-bration free merchandise)  Dies #114934 Flower & 113469 Scallop circle #2, Designer Series paper #117164 Celebrations (love this paper), Sticky Strip #104294 and Liquid Glue #110755, Ribbon #115618 Old Oliver 1 1/4" striped Grosgrain ribbon and #119256 Old Olive 1/8" Taffeta ribbon. 

 

Stampin' Up! Nature Walk & Bliss Scrap page

I wanted to share the pages I made at my first Saudi Scrap Class with you all.  My classes here in kingdom are a little different than I did in the states, we make 2 two-page spreads, I shared the Valentine one last week and this Travel page is the other one. 

I used Stampin' Up!'s new stamps sets; Nature Walk and my favorite stamp set out of the sale-a-bration catalog called Bliss.  Chocolate Chip is the base cardstock with Very Vanilla rolled with Stampin' Up! Very Vintage roller and Versamark ink.  I then used the chocolate chip pastel and a cotton ball and rubbed it over the rollered image to softly pop the background.  We then cut 2x2 squares from Stampin' Up!'s Botanical Gazette Designer Series paper and placed them on the corners of each page.  Added a 1/2 x 12 inch strip of Chocolate chip cardstock to create interest on the page. 

I stamped the swirl image from Bliss over the background papers making sure I hung off the egdes.  I stamped images from Bliss and Nature walk in Chocolate chip ink, Not quite Navy and Cherry Cobbler.  Cut them out and added them to the page with dimensionals.  The title was created with the Big Shot letters called Timeless Type cut from Chocolate Chip cardstock.  Bliss is a stamp in the Bliss stamp set that was stamped with Chocolate chip, punched using the Designer Label large punch and add a 1 3/8" circle punch of Chocolate chip cardstock behind it. 

These pictures are a few from our trip to Greece in Sept.  We had a great trip and I have so many photos but decided to create this 2 page spread as a reminder of the trip and do a trip book at a later time.  At least I have a memory saved.

Remember to check out the free products you can select when you order during Sale-a-bration at my Stampin' Web site:  http://www.wendythestamper.stampinup.net

Elegant Pink Valentine

I thought I would finish the week off with another creative use of the Petal cone die.  To create this Elegant pink Valentine card you cut 2 cone pieces using the die and then run one of them through the Big Shot again using the Vintage Wallpaper impressions embossing folder.  Glue the two together (see hint and photo below).  Add the Embosslits Scallop Heart of Hearts accents cut from white and Regal Rose.  The banner piece is cut from the Petal Cone die and was cut from Whisper White cardstock and glued to only one side so the card can open. 

Amanda, one of my stamping buddies, made this card for me at Leadership and I think it is so elegant. 

Hint: This image shows you the inside of the card so you get the idea on how to glue it  together.  The flap on the main piece is glued to half of the other die that you embossed.  The other half with the tab is glued to the opposite side of the main piece. 

This card is a perfect Valentine but could also be used as a wedding or anniversary card. 

To order the cone die or any Big Shot and it's accessories go to my stampin' web site: http://wendythestamper.stampinup.net

Stampin' Up! Framed Tulips Embossing Folder

I really like Stampin' Up!'s new Framed Tulips embossing folder if you could not already guess that by looking at all the cards I have used it on this month. 

The Textured Impression Embossing Folders create a deeply embossed images and this unquie designs of a tulip frame creates a wonderful focal point for the front of cards.  I used it here on Very Vanilla cardstock but cut off the bottom part and only used half of the frame.  I stamped the heart flower from Stampin' Up! filled with love stamp set that was colored with real red and wild wasabi markers.  I added a Pear Pizzazz seam binding ribbon and hung an oval tag from the bow. 

All products can be found at my stampin' web site: http://www.wendythestamper.stampinup.net

Fill your life with Love

This is the last week to take advantage of Stampin' Up! Fill your life with Love Promotion.  I wanted to share another card I created using some of the supplies from this special stamp set.

This card is Pear Pizazz that was embossed with the Dot embossing folder and the Big Shot.  I cut a window out of the front using my cutter and placed a strip of Rose Red cardstock in the middle of the inside of this card. 

I stamped with large heart with Rose Red ink on Pink Pirouette cardstock and the small heart whisper white cardstock.  I markered in the words I wanted with green ink and punched it using the modern label punch.  I stamped a heart once on scrap paper and then the 2nd image on the words. 

The buttons are created using Stampin' Up! Embosslits Sweet Buttons and the Big Shot machine.  I cut/embossed them from pink pirouette and rose red cardstock and added some sponging in Rose Red and white gel pen thread.  These are layered on the card with dimensionals.  The large heart is hung in the opening with linen thread. 

Check out this promotion at my stampin web site:  http://wendythestamper.stampinup.net

Holiday Happenings

 I love Christmas and all the red, green and gold and this year I am making ornaments for a Saudi Christmas because we did not bring any Christmas decorations with us.  I also sold these in the craft fair this past week and thought I would share them here. 

I found some leather /vinyl  here in Arabia and die cut it with the Big Shot scallop square.  This worked great and I was able to stamp on the leather with Black Stazon.  The Santa is done with punches.  The small tag punch is the hat and beard, face is 1 3/8 circle, nose and top of hat are  1/2" circle, word window is the hats trim, 1/4" circle for eyes, slot punches for eyebrows and the 5 petal flower punch trimed for the mustache.  I added white gel pen to the eyes to make them pop and watercolor his cheeks a little.   I also outlined him with a black writer.  These always make me smile.

 

Pennant Big Shot Quilt & new Quilt house

I visited my friend Wendy this summer and we talked quilting.  I love that Stampin' Up!'s big shot dies work so well to create easy and unique quilts.  This one is created with the Pennant Die, using all the pieces to create both the diamond shape and the blossoms intersections.  I can't wait for all my fabric and supplies to arrive, (I know it will still be months, somewhere around the first of October, but I can dream about all the quilts I want to make until then).

The fun thing about living here is even though my house might be small I have access to a wonderful quilt house.   

It has several rooms that with a yearly fee of about $24.00 us dollars you can access it anytime day or night.  They have lots of matts, rulers, irons and ironing boards and work spaces, places for you to keep your sewing machine under lock and key if you are coming back soon, copy machine, kitchen, fridge stocked with cold drinks, a library of quilting books and magazines, they have tables that are raised for laying out your quilts. 

The other day I was alone for the first time since coming here to Arabia and I just went over and curled up in a chair in the Quilt house and read quilting magazines for a hour or two, it was so relaxing and motivating.

The quilters here meet every week, and they also have on going charity quilts being made that they give to the hospitals outside of camp for those in need.  It is a great program that provides something wonderful for those who don't have much.  I love this quilt house and plan to spend some time there in the future.

Big Shot Circle Quilt

While I was in Utah we got in a car accident and my friend Wendy Knowles helped us all get massages the next day and while I was waiting for my family to finish we talked Stampin' Up!. 

Wendy has been creating quilts just like I have and she shared this one that is a circle quilt. 

The base is a white rectangle with 2 border strips added around it and then you cut the scallop circles using the Big Shot and glue them to the white fabric with Stampin' Up!'s glue sticks.  (The glue washes out so it does not damage the quilt)  After that you can either quilt it yourself or take it along with some backing fabric and batting to a quilter and have it quilted for you.    You can choose a design if you know what you want or you can talk to the quilter to see is she has any suggestions.  I like the flower image they created in the middle of the circles on this quilt and then just a meandering look on the white fabric and a swirl on the borders.

These quilts are easy to make and so much fun to create any size you want.