Jul 18, 2010 | Baroque Motifs, Cards, Punch Art, Summer Mini 2010, Wedding |
I’m continuing to share with you from our STARZ meeting last weekend. I asked several of the girls to bring a make&take project for everyone and I have two I’m going to show today. I decided that both of these would be perfect for Wedding Cards. I know for me I had my wedding on my mind during this time of year. Our wedding anniversary is next week on July 22nd. It will be our 21st anniversary! And I will be in Salt Lake City at the Stampin’ Up! convention. I told Greg to make sure he went out and played golf that day.
So on to the cards to show you. The first is a wedding card that Cindy brought and you can find out more about it on her blog – click here. She got the idea from another demonstrator and added her own little touch to it – the flower bouquet. We decided the new rhinestones and pearls that are in the new catalog would work well on this card too for adding bling to the dress.
This card was not very hard to make – it is a regular sized card but scored a bit different. There are two sides that fold in to meet in the center. Then one side is decorated as the groom in his tux and the other is the bride in her dress. When you close the card they are standing next to each other with the brides dress overlapping the front of the card. I’m sure that I will use this idea again when I need a wedding card. We used the Trio Flower punch to make the bouquet and it was one of the punches that retired. But any flower ideas would work. I’m so glad that Cindy shared this with us and that we all got to actually make it.
This next card is another share that Michelle brought for us to make. She taught us how to make these beautiful rose buds using the Two-Step Bird punch. It really is the bird punch – can you believe it!
Michelle does not have a blog yet but you can see another one of her projects this month on the Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator website in the Online Extras for the Monthly art contest – she didn’t win but she got an Honorable Mention. She does some beautiful work with sponging and shading on her projects that really make things look real.
I think this card could also be used as a wedding card and you could even adjust the colors of the card and rose buds to match the wedding colors. This card took some time punching out the various pieces, shading them all with the sponge dauber and then glueing them together. When working with little pieces like these I prefer to use a pair of craft tweezers and a 2-way glue pen.
The ideas from these cards could also be used on a scrapbook page for a wedding – you could create a bouquet of roses if you spent some time with it. Thank you to both of them for sharing their ideas with our group.
Here is my convention prep work update – I have 2 more full days to work on stuff and then I leave on Tuesday!
Shoebox swap – 49 cards – designed, cut, all the kits are assembled and I have 24 assembled with just one more step to finish on most of them – and then I need to make one more – I was supposed to have 25. Then I need to pack the supplies to make the kits and I will be done – so Almost Done.
UDI card swap – 19 cards – designed, cut and needs to be assembled
UDI 3-D swap – I only have to make 1! And I know what it is just need to decide if I want to give away my sample or make a new one.
General swap 1 – 25 card fronts – All DONE
General swap 2 – 25 card fronts – All DONE
General swap 3 – 25 card fronts – I have an idea in mind, I just need to work on it – this may not get done at all.
General swap 4 – 25 card fronts – I realized I started cutting for a swap, used part of it for my STARZ swap this weekend, but I think I want to redesign this because I wasn’t completely happy with it, so I need to work with what I already cut
Friend gifts – planning to make some amount of something to give to friends I see
Roommate gifts – 3 – designed
Well I better go get busy – I still have lots to do!
Jun 18, 2010 | Almost Artisan, Baroque Motifs, Big Shot |
Well this post is my last project for the Artisan Award contest. I really loved how this turned out. It is based on the little Hugs & Kisses holder I created earlier this year – click here to see it – for that one I used the scallop square die and 
the Big Shot. For this one I started with a 12×12 piece of card stock and if I remember correctly I had to trim it down to 11-3/4″ x 11-3/4″ so that I could use the Scallop Trim Corner and Edge punches to get an even scalloped edge on all four sides.
I know that there are several instructions and videos on how to use the corner and edge punches together. I have tried those and by the time I get to the fourth side I no longer have a square or rectangle so I had to come up with what worked for me. I punch all four corners first and then fill in between with the edge punch. In order for this to work though you need to start with a size that allows even scallops on each side.
Anyway I got the scallops even all the way around and added a little white gel pen dot on each of the little scallops. Then each side has a piece of So Saffron Designer Series Paper. I decorated each of the sides – here are some close up photos of those:
The base is stamped with the large swirl from Baroque Motifs on each side using Old Olive ink. This first side has a scalloped layered flower and butterflies. I used Ballet Blue and So Saffron as my colors. The center of the flower has an embossed button tied with linen thread. The large butterfly has a beaded body and it is layered with several butterflies from the Beautiful Wings Embosslit die.
The second side as a bluebird made from the two-step bird punch. I used sponges to add the colors – Ballet Blue and Really Rust to create the bird which was punched from the Naturals White card stock. Then some little flowers from the Trio Flower punch and the Little Leaves die was used for branches.
The third side is similar to the first just rearranged differently.
The fourth side is similar to the second side.
I think this would be a really pretty center piece on a table for a bridal shower, wedding or other spring/summer event. Or change the colors and decorations for whatever season you need.
Here is a view from the top looking down. 
I filled the inside with some straw after tying up the centers with some of the Old Olive Satin Ribbon. This would have been pretty for Easter with an egg nestled in each section.
That is the last of my Artisan Award projects that I entered into the contest. Looking back now at my projects as compared to the retired list and colors – I think I used lots of retiring product – not that we knew any of that before our projects were mailed in. But I guess my work is not in the current style that they may have been looking for.
There is always next year……
Thanks for visiting!
Want to see the rest of my projects that I entered – CLICK HERE.
Want to see some other Almost Artisan projects – CLICK HERE.
May 31, 2010 | Almost Artisan, Baroque Motifs, Cards, Embossing, Occasion Mini 2010, Sale-A-Bration 2010, Thank You |
It was really hard not sharing these projects earlier. Since we made them during the Sale-A-Bration and Occasions Mini Catalog sales period some of my projects use items from these. They were current at the time so they were eligible for the contest. Even though the judging occurred after they ended. I wonder if that had anything to do with the chosen winners. Between that and using what are now going to be retiring colors – that was announced after I sent my entry in and when you see one of my scrapbook pages it ended up with a bunch of retiring colors on it. Oh well…
So here is card #1 – I considered this to be my vintage card. I had actually created a scrapbook page with this idea and posted it on my blog earlier – click here to see it – and when I was creating for the Artisan contest I kept coming back to that page but knew I couldn’t enter it since it was already on my blog. My solution was to make a card using the same idea.
It is a very pretty card in person – I’m not sure the picture does it any justice. The card base is Basic Black and the stamping is done with Versamark and embossed with Clear Embossing powder. I love this look.
I used the Vintage Labels stamp set from Sale-A-Bration – too bad that one isn’t still available. The others are all still current – Charming, Tiny Tags, and Baroque Motifs.
The colors are Crushed Curry, Basic Black and Whisper White.
I had also decided to decorate the inside of each of my cards. I go in phases of doing this. And I usually always do it when the card base is dark like the Basic Black. The inside was pretty simple but matched with the front of the card.
So that is my first entry for the Artisan Award.
I hope you like it. And that you’ll come back to see the rest!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
CLICK HERE – to go to the post for other Almost Artisan blog links.
Apr 20, 2010 | Baroque Motifs, class |
Tumbled Tile Coaster Class
Sunday, April 25th – 2:00 pm
In this class you will create a set of four Tumbled-Tile Coasters and a coordinating box to hold them.
You will have several designs to choose from.
Please sign up for this class by the end of day Friday, April 23rd.
The class fee will be $12.
I hope you will join me!
Click here to RSVP.
Early Bird pricing for Create with Connie & Mary: Summer Edition is going on now – $19.95 – don’t miss out!
Join me for the Royal Blog Tour: April 30 – May 3rd.
Feb 8, 2010 | Baroque Motifs, Designer Series Paper, Embossing, Holiday Mini Catalog 2009, Sale-A-Bration 2010, Scrapbook Pages |
I’m continuing with the 52 weeks of stress free scrapbooking – and I have week 4 finished – that means 48 more to go…
I love how this one turned out. On the 52 weeks blog – Janna actually had two layouts – this was the alternate layout and I turned it on it’s side. And used all Stampin’ Up! product to create my version.
I have never made a black & white page – I added one color – a combination of So Saffron/Crushed Curry. The photo is my grandmother that died before I was born so I never knew her. It is an old photo from 1930 – so it is black & white with the yellowing of a vintage photo so I decided the So Saffron would work well with it.
The base is a piece of 12 x 12 Basic Black card stock. I stamped it with the large swirl image from the Baroque Motifs stamp set using VersaMark ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder. The other black panel is created the same way. I used some of the Night & Day Designer Series Paper was in the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini Catalog (now you can get it as a Digital Download for My Digital Studio). I add a few strips of So Saffron card stock and create the edging with the new Scallop Trim Border Punch (you can get it FREE with a qualifying Sale-A-Bration order). The patterned paper layered behind the photo and the title at the bottom is the Crushed Curry print from the Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Series Paper pack – it is a light print so it looks more like So Saffron. There are small photo corners punched from the Basic Black card stock and the Photo Corners punch.
The accent pieces are stamped with the Vintage Labels set (another one you can get FREE with a qualifying Sale-A-Bration order) – the curly label frame image was stamped with Crushed Curry or Basic Black ink on Whisper White, So Saffron card stock and a piece of the Night & Day Designer Series paper. These were all punched out with the Curly Label punch.
Then I stamped each one with an image from the Charming stamp set which was featured in the Holiday Mini catalog but is still available during the Occasions Mini Catalog. The flower was stamped with Crushed Curry ink. The other two were stamped with VersaMark and embossed with white embossing powder.
I was very happy with how this one turned out. I hope you like it too. Now to work on week 5’s layout…..
Have a wonderful Stampin’ Up! Day!
Nov 16, 2009 | Baroque Motifs, Big Shot, Christmas, Contest Winner, Embossing, Stamper's Club |
This is the best project! So much fun to make and they will be awesome gifts for almost anyone. I have been wanting to make the tile coasters with the tumbled tiles for awhile now. I made them a couple of years ago using StazOn ink and Stampin’ Pastels but I’ve seen other people making them with craft ink. I had planned on the tiles being one of the projects for my Stamper’s Club this time since we were working on gift giving ideas. In the Simply Holidays class that Heather Summers had she showed us a tumbled tile project that included a box to hold the tiles – it was perfect! I made sure I had Craft Ink and Clear Embossing Powder and I went and bought the tiles and was ready to roll. I decided to use the Dasher stamp set on the tiles and was very happy with how they turned out.
Stampin’ Up! supplies include:
– Dasher stamp set
– Tree Trimmings stamp set
– Baroque Motifs stamp set
– Warm Words stamp set
– Winter Post stamp set (for the tag)
– Craft ink in Chocolate Chip, Old Olive and Real Red
– Clear Embossing Powder
– Chocolate Chip card stock for the box
– Kraft card stock for the tag
– Old Olive or Chocolate Chip 1-1/4″ Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
– Big Shot and Stampin’ Up! Two Tags die
– Red hemp cord (retired SU product)
And non-SU are the Tumbled Tiles and the felt tabs for the bottom of the tiles.
I made up about 4 more sets the weekend after we had our club meeting and I do plan to make some more to have for gifts this Holiday season.
UPDATE: I have been getting some questions on these so here is an explanation of how they were made.
I stamped the images with Craft ink and then covered them with Clear Embossing Powder. Since I was making a bunch I put them all on a cookie sheet (lined with parchment paper) and put them in the oven – I think each oven varies so you may need to test the temp and time for yours. I started at 300 degrees and it was taking a very long time so I increased the temp to 350. It took about 8 minutes for each batch of tiles – I have large cookie sheets so I think I had at least 8 or 10 tiles on it. You do want them all to lie flat on the tray – I did one batch where I had one leaning up on the edge and it took much longer to heat the embossing powder. You can see the powder change from powdery to a shiny finish. If you leave them too long they start to bubble so you do need to keep an eye on them. Then I took them out of the oven and I had a large towel doubled on my counter – I used a spatula to take them off the tray and place on the towel to cool – they will be HOT – don’t touch them! After they cool completely add the little felt pads to the bottom so they don’t scratch the table when you use them. I bought my tumbled tiles at Home Depot and they were about $5 for a box of 9.
Happy Stampin’!
So on to the cards to show you. The first is a wedding card that Cindy brought and you can find out more about it on her blog – click here. She got the idea from another demonstrator and added her own little touch to it – the flower bouquet. We decided the new rhinestones and pearls that are in the new catalog would work well on this card too for adding bling to the dress.
This next card is another share that Michelle brought for us to make. She taught us how to make these beautiful rose buds using the Two-Step Bird punch. It really is the bird punch – can you believe it!
