May 1, 2010 | Cards, Colored Brads, Create with Connie & Mary, Summer Mini 2010, Watercoloring |
Good Morning and Happy May! It is Saturday and time for the first Challenge at Create with Connie & Mary!
I hope you enjoyed the preview week projects – I know I did. To see the winners of the FREE passes please visit the Create with Connie & Mary site. Congratulations to all the winners – I’m so glad you are joining us!
This week our challenge is a sketch challenge. The featured items this week are from the Stampin’ Up! Summer Mini Catalog – Elements of Style stamp set, Presto Patterns Designer Series Paper, Mostly Vintage Stencil and the Rough Type Alphabet stamp set. My choice was to use the Elements of Style stamp set. I actually made two different cards for this challenge using the same stamp set and same colors. One follows the shapes of the sketch and the other is a different interpretation without the rectangular shapes – it is what I call a loose interpretation – I’ll show you both versions – and you can see if you see the sketch in the second one.
For the first card I started with a Garden Green card base. I added a Sahara Sand rectangle down the right side – stamped with Garden Green and sponged the edges with Sahara Sand. There is a Ruby Red scalloped trim on the right edge. The focal point is actually a 3×3 square – so you could use that portion of this card as a 3×3 card if you needed it. The roses are stamped in Black StazOn ink and water colored. The Hummingbird is inked with Stampin’ Write Markers and then cut out and popped up.
The greeting is inside a piece of the Hodge Podge Very Vanilla hardware. I colored my hardware Ruby Red so it would match my card and stand out more than the vanilla color.
This is how I colored my hardware – first I covered the hardware with Ruby Red Craft Ink. Then I covered the ink with Clear Embossing Powder. Use a heat tool and heat the embossing powder just until it melts. I hold my hardware with a pair of craft tweezers – it will get hot and the heat tool is hot and you don’t want to burn your fingers. Don’t overheat because the vanilla finish underneath can burn if it gets to hot and it turns rusty colored.
Here is a full list of Stampin’ Up! supplies for this card:
- Elements of Style stamp set
- card stock: Garden Green, Ruby Red, Sahara Sand, Whisper White
- ink: Garden Green Classic and Stampin’ Write marker, Ruby Red Classic and Craft and Stampin’ Write marker, Black StazOn, Sahara Sand Classic and Stampin’ Write Marker, Black Journaler
- Vanilla Hodge Podge Hardware
- Clear Embossing Powder
- Heat Tool
- Stampin’ Sponge
- Aqua Painter
- Stampin’ Dimensionals
And here is my other card – 
most of the supplies are the same as the first card with the following differences. The roses are stamped on Watercolor paper twice – one full piece is layered on the front of my card and the second set I cut out the larger flowers and mounted them with Stampin’ Dimensionals on top of the matching flowers for a 3-d effect. The roses represent the vertical rectangle in the sketch. I stamped the hummingbird and cut it out – it represents the horizontal rectangle in the sketch. The hardware is the same. Can you see the sketch in this card?Check out what the rest of the Create team did with this challenge:
Connie
Mary
Kerin
If you haven’t checked out the Create with Connie and Mary site yet it isn’t too late to do it! We feature new Summer Mini products every week. For more information and to see our Preview Week projects please visit the Create with Connie and Mary site.
Thanks for stopping by today! Happy Stampin’!
Apr 27, 2010 | Create with Connie & Mary, Scrapbook Pages, Summer Mini 2010, Tutorial |
Preview Week for Create with Connie & Mary is here and I’m so excited to share my first project!
BLOG CANDY ALERT!!! You can enter to win a FREE Subscription! I’m giving away a Free Subscription TODAY (Tuesday April 27th) – you have to leave me a comment on this blog post to be entered to win – you have until 11:55pm tonight to be entered in the drawing to win one free subscription. Each of the designers is giving away a free subscription this week so come back each day and I’ll tell you where to go to enter to win.
I originally made this project about 3 years ago and used it as Mother’s Day gifts that year and for a swap at convention. It is still one of my most favorite projects and since it has been several years since I have made one I decided to revisit my Scrapbook in a Box project. This one features the new Elements of Style stamp set that will be available in the Stampin’ Up! Summer Mini Catalog that begins on May 1st.
If you follow my blog you know that right now I am doing a lot of bird watching – I currently have 4 nests in my yard – and I have been taking lots of pictures of the birds these last couple of months. So I decided that was what my scrapbook was going to feature. And I LOVE how it turned out!
I have written a tutorial on how to create this Scrapbook in a Box – so hop on over to the Create with Connie & Mary to download this tutorial for FREE. And to see what the inside of the box looks like – I just love it!
I’m so glad you stopped by today – I can’t wait to CREATE more projects for you! Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a FREE subscription!
I’m a Guest Designer at Create with Connie & Mary: Summer Edition going on now – don’t miss out!
I’m also a princess on the Royal Blog Tour: April 30 – May 3rd – visit my blog to take the Royal Tour.
Apr 26, 2010 | Cards, Create with Connie & Mary, Summer Mini 2010, Thank You |
I have been creating 3×3 tags for several months now and showing them on my blog as I create a new design. A few weeks ago I completed a challenge to take a 3×3 card and convert it to a full size card. I used this idea as a Stamp Club project earlier this month. So I had a thought that I would show each 3×3 card and a matching full sized card going forward.
This week I made a 3×3 card using the new Bouquet Bunch stamp set that will be in the Stampin’ Up! Summer Mini Catalog that begins on May 1st. CLICK here to see my original 3×3.
When I saw this weeks Stamping 411 challenge I knew exactly what I was going to do to convert this 3×3 card to a full size card.
This sketch was perfect for what I wanted to do. So I took my 3×3 and created my new full card using the 411 sketch.
What do you think? Didn’t it work out perfectly.
I took the 3×3 and added it to a Basic Grey card base.
I wrapped a piece of the Crushed Curry Polka Dot ribbon around the bottom. The ribbon is held on with the Linen Thread that is tied through the button. The button is from the Button Latte Designer Button set. I stamped another little bird on a piece of Whisper White and punched it with the Jewelry Tag punch – it was added underneath the button so it hangs out from behind.
Today is Monday and if you want a chance to win a FREE Subscription to Create with Connie & Mary you need to go visit Connie’s Blog to see her preview week project and enter to win. Good Luck!
I’m a Guest Designer at Create with Connie & Mary: Summer Edition going on now – don’t miss out!
I’m also a princess on the Royal Blog Tour: April 30 – May 3rd – visit my blog to take the Royal Tour.
Apr 25, 2010 | Create with Connie & Mary, Embossing, Summer Mini 2010, Tutorial |
Today is my Tumbled Tile Coasters class so I thought I would share with you some more designs along with the instructions on how I create my tiles and the box. I received lots of questions when I posted my other design. I’ve tried to reply to everyone so hopefully I didn’t miss anybody.
I created two designs using the Elements of Style stamp set coming out in the Stampin’ Up! Summer Mini Catalog on May 1st.
The first one features the large floral image and I added a letter from the Lovely Letters stamp set for a set of monogrammed tiles. These were done in Chocolate Chip ink.
The second set uses the smaller vine image and the humming bird. The colors are Old Olive and Ruby Red.
So here are some basic instructions on how I make my coasters. I buy Tumbled Tiles from the home improvement store – there are a few different colors – this time I’m using the whiter ones last time I used the ones with some more brown in them. Then I rinse them in water and set them out to dry usually overnight.
- preheat oven to 350 degrees
- stamp images using craft ink and cover with clear embossing powder. Tap off excess powder – it should stick to the ink and doesn’t need to cover the whole tile.
- set tiles flat on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper
- put the baking sheet in the oven – I start with 6 minutes and check to see how they look
- it they still look powdery instead of shiny then they need longer – try 2-4 minute increments
- my last batch took 11- 1/2 minutes for 6 tiles
- remove from oven – don’t touch they are HOT – if needed finish any spots with a heat tool
- remove from baking sheet with a spatula and set on a towel on the counter to let them cool
- add felt circles to the bottom so they won’t scratch your furniture
The idea for the tiles and the box design came from Heather Summers as part of one of her classes. She told me I could share the box dimensions with you. For each box use one piece of 11-3/4″ x 11-3/4″ card stock. Score on all four sides at 1-3/4″ and 3-3/4″. After you score there are 4 squares in each corner. You need to cut away the three outside squares from each corner. Then cut on two opposite sides to create tabs from the ones that are left. Here is a photo of what it looks like after you cut. I also cut a small wedge out of the outer flaps so they will fold nicely into the inside of the box.
To make the box fold two of the tabs in and the fold the flap around and glue in place – I like to use a small amount of Tombow Multi-purpose adhesive. Do the same to the opposite side. Then fold in the remaining two flaps and glue them in place. Tie a piece of wide ribbon around the box – or if you are giving it as a gift tie it over the top of the tiles to hold them in the box.
I hope that gives everyone the information they needed for this great project. It has been one of my favorite and everyone has loved these. The Elements of Style stamp set that I used for this project is one of the featured stamp sets during the preview week of Create with Connie and Mary which starts today.
Would you like to WIN a subscription to Create with Connie and Mary? Each of our team members will be giving away subscriptions on their blogs this week. To enter to win, all you have to do is leave a comment on our team member’s blog on the day that we are featuring them. To enter to win today, please leave a comment on Mary Brown’s Blog. All the winners will be announced on Saturday, May 1st!
HINT: On Tuesday, it is MY turn to give away a FREE subscription, so make sure you come back and leave a comment on my Tuesday blog post to get a chance to win!
If you are a winner and have already subscribed, we will refund the price of your subscription!
Don’t miss out on the fun and some great project ideas!
Thanks for stopping by today.
Apr 24, 2010 | Cards, Create with Connie & Mary, Summer Mini 2010 |
I have been playing with the new Elements of Style stamp set from Stampin’ Up! and decided to use it for a challenge that I found. The challenge was to create a One Layer Card – basically use only stamps on your card. You can see the challenge HERE on KWerner Design Blog.
It’s not always easy to make a one layer card because you always want to add more. For this card the base is Kraft card stock – soon to be known as Crumb Cake in our new catalog. I stamped the large floral image from Elements of Style set in Chocolate Chip craft ink and let it dry. The hummingbird is stamped in Ruby Red craft ink – once on the card and once on a scrap piece and cut out. I wanted it to have a bit of dimension so it looked like it was flying.
I sponged around the edges of the card with Chocolate Chip ink and also spritzed it with the Color Spritzer and a Chocolate Chip marker.
The flight trail under the bird was down with the paper piercer and as a guide I used one of the Classy Brass templates – Pick a Petal is the name and it has a large circle pattern on it.
I used an AquaPainter to add a little bit of color to the flowers – Sahara Sand, and the leaves – Mellow Moss.
I made another one layer card recently (well except for the ribbon) – click HERE to see it.
That’s it – my one layer card. Starting tomorrow it is preview week at Create with Connie & Mary – be sure to stop by. The Elements of Style stamp set is one of the items we are featuring so you will see more ideas with it. And every day during preview week one of the design team members will be giving away a free pass.
Thanks for stopping by today!
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.
Apr 23, 2010 | Awards, Create with Connie & Mary, Summer Mini 2010 |
This morning I made 3×3 tags that I needed for some thank yous on my customer orders and decided to use a color challenge that I found and the new Bouquet Bunch stamp set. This set will be available in the Stampin’ Up! Summer Mini Catalog beginning May 1st. Demonstrators get to pre-order items from the mini catalogs so we can start working on ideas and samples. This is also a 2-step stampin’ set which I’ve been using a lot of this month since there are some on special.
The color challenge is called Curtain Call Color Challenge – Act 26.
I have not seen this one before so it is new to me. I liked the colors for this challenge so I thought I would give it a try. The colors are Crushed Curry, Basic Grey, Going Grey and Whisper White.
The flowers are stamped once on the White square and once one another piece of white and cut out. I colored them in with the Crushed Curry marker and then sponged around them with Crushed Curry ink. I think really only some are flowers and some are leaves but I wanted the look of a full flower tree so I just colored them all.
The pot is stamped on Crushed Curry card stock and cut out. I tied a piece of white embroidery thread around it – I think I should have used linen thread though because it is finer than what I used. The image of the pot has a string tied around it so I was trying to include that as a real item.
The little thank you is from the Teeny Tiny wishes stamp set and then punched with the Curly Label punch and tucked under the gray square. This little stamp set is just the right size for 3×3 cards and you can mix and match the pieces for different variations.
I received another Sunshine Award today – 
this one came from Martha Lu – this is what she sent me –
Dear Monika, I hope you are doing well.
I only want to say thank you for be my inspiration and let you know
that you are one of my twelve winners of the Sunshine Award that I
received from Jean Fitch.
Congratulations and one more time thank you for sharing your wonderful ideas!
If you want more details about this award please feel free to visit my
blog http://stampartpapel.blogspot.com/2010/04/sunshine-awardfor-us.html
God Blessings,
Martha Lu
Thanks Martha for the award. Click Here to see my post passing the award on to twelve other demonstrators. It is another nice sunny day today but we are supposed to have rain all weekend. Be sure to come back next week to see my preview project for Create with Connie & Mary – preview week starts on Sunday and the early bird special will be ending.
Thanks for stopping by today!
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.
This week our challenge is a sketch challenge. The featured items this week are from the Stampin’ Up! Summer Mini Catalog – Elements of Style stamp set, Presto Patterns Designer Series Paper, Mostly Vintage Stencil and the Rough Type Alphabet stamp set. My choice was to use the Elements of Style stamp set. I actually made two different cards for this challenge using the same stamp set and same colors. One follows the shapes of the sketch and the other is a different interpretation without the rectangular shapes – it is what I call a loose interpretation – I’ll show you both versions – and you can see if you see the sketch in the second one.
For the first card I started with a Garden Green card base. I added a Sahara Sand rectangle down the right side – stamped with Garden Green and sponged the edges with Sahara Sand. There is a Ruby Red scalloped trim on the right edge. The focal point is actually a 3×3 square – so you could use that portion of this card as a 3×3 card if you needed it. The roses are stamped in Black StazOn ink and water colored. The Hummingbird is inked with Stampin’ Write Markers and then cut out and popped up.
most of the supplies are the same as the first card with the following differences. The roses are stamped on Watercolor paper twice – one full piece is layered on the front of my card and the second set I cut out the larger flowers and mounted them with Stampin’ Dimensionals on top of the matching flowers for a 3-d effect. The roses represent the vertical rectangle in the sketch. I stamped the hummingbird and cut it out – it represents the horizontal rectangle in the sketch. The hardware is the same. Can you see the sketch in this card?Check out what the rest of the Create team did with this challenge:
If you haven’t checked out the Create with Connie and Mary site yet it isn’t too late to do it! We feature new Summer Mini products every week. For more information and to see our Preview Week projects please visit the Create with Connie and Mary site.
