Stampin' Up! has released the list of retiring sets

Every year Stampin' Up! retires several of their sets to make way for new ones. Here is the list of stamps that will be retiring at the end of June this year. If you do not have a current catalog you can see the catalog online here. If you are interested in purchasing any of them or have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

The Ink Blog

This was a site that I discovered awhile ago. I thought that I had done a review on it and I could not find it when I went back to look. This was one of my favorites. She keeps the mood upbeat, offers suggestions and tips, and categories on all of the posts she has done. It was very easy to navigate through and well written. She adds tons of photos which is very helpful for me since I am a visual person. If I can see in a picture how a technique is presented, I can usually figure out how it was done on my own. There are days when I just love being creative! Check out Nicole's Ink Blog for some great things!

Why Stamp?

So why do I stamp? I love to make things for people. I am a firm believer that when a person gets a card or a gift that is handmade it means more to them. So why do I stamp? It is a really fun way for me to use my creative side. I take the time to relax by making things. I am usually covered in who knows what that my two year old wipes or slobbers all over me or up to my ears in homework, housework and extra curricular activities that my two older children are in. This is time for me to either work alone and clear my head or to get together with my friends once a month to gossip and make some great things.

Did I mention that I am an education major? When I first moved to this area, I worked as a paraprofessional and one of the teachers I worked with asked me to come to a stamping party. I first thought to myself, sure, why not? I know about two people and this sounds like fun. Plus it would be an night away from my very busy toddler. I had so much fun the first night that I ended up becoming a demonstrator myself. This is also for the discount... When my husband found out that I could get a discount if I was a demonstrator he wrote out the check and was saying how he could save even more money now! It was a standing joke for awhile that he couldn't write out the check fast enough. Every month he says we are going to need to add on another room to our house because I am filling it up with so much stamping supplies that soon, we will not be able to see the bed in the spare room.

I also take the time once a month to get the advice or opinions of my friends since they are already in the filed of work that I am going into. It really comes in handy when I have a class that I have no interest in and one of them is an expert. So whether or not you have a stamping hobby, make sure to take the time to do something you enjoy. It makes life easier on you in the long run!

Galleries on Splitcoast Stampers

I mentioned Monica in an earlier post. She has set up her own gallery in splitcoast stampers and it is viewable to all. Since I am not a great internet person or one that has all the time in the world to search for things online, I had no idea that you could go under the search engine in splitcoast stampers and type in her username and all of her work would appear and that saves me hours from searching by each category. Here is a link for you to check out her work. So if you know any scrapbookers who use splitcoast stampers, go into the gallery and click on search. It will give you a choice of what to do for narrowing your search and you can find your friends or favorite artists by username. Since the company I am an independent demonstrator for is so popular, the main page in the gallery is alphabetized by each stamp set for the company Stampin' Up!. This is such a great tool for when you are having a block because you can look up ideas for each stamp set and work from there.

DIY Netowrk

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, we had our monthly stamping club yesterday. I was telling the girls what I had been doing on my blog and was trying to think of other websites that I had not been to for more stamping info. Monica told me to go to the DIY network website. They have a section on scrapbooking things you can find here and once you go through each section you will find q & a forums as well as ideas. As I went down the list, I came across a rubber stamping link on the left side of the page. I found great things under this link. I randomly went down the list and each link that I clicked on had directions with pictures. Each link that I looked I was impressed with. This is a great site to check out so if you have time take a look!

Another Birthday

I know I have posted a Lot of birthday cards, but it seems like every time I turn around there is another birthday. I have had to make 6 cards this month alone. This card was fun to make. My daughter and I made it for my friend Sharon's birthday and I usually make 2 so I can put one in my portfolio. My daughter added my name to this one since it was for the book. I used the word find stamp and blossoms abound for this card. The word find stamp is very versatile because it can be used for all kinds of cards. I tore the paper and added layers for more of a popping effect as well.

Mother's Day

This card was a lot of fun to make. We made it at our monthly club today and used one of the new sets from the Spring Mini Catalog from Stampin' Up!. When I first saw the set in the catalog, I was not very impressed with the examples that were given and thought I would skip buying this one. We used You make me happy and All year cheer II.

On whisper white card stock, sponge apricot appeal around the edges. Using Green galore, stamp the stems and petals in any arrangement. On a separate piece of white cardstock, stamp the large flower and small flower using apricot appeal. Stamp the small circle using chocolate chip in the middle of the flowers. Cut these out and adhere with glue dots. Once the flowers are on, stamp on the dragonfly with chocolate chip in the background. On the inside of the card stamp Happy Mother's Day in Chocolate chip and then using the dots stamp from you make me happy stamp over Happy Mother's Day in apricot appeal.

This was a very quick and simple card to make!

Photo Album

Step 1
Cut 3 10x10 pieces of cardstock. I used 2 white and 1 red for this project. Also cut 2 5 1/2 pieces and 2 5 1/4 pieces.

Step 2
Score the 3 10x10 pieces at 5" horizontally, vertically and once diagonally. Stamp snowflakes all over both sides of cardstock.

Step 3
Glue the 3 pieces together so that they look like the picture above on the top right.

Step 4
Fold the photo album like an accordion. The diagonal points should meet in the middle. It will feel like it is fighting against you but will settle after it has been tied together.

Step 5
Cut 2 pieces of ribbon at 15" each. Using mono tape, glue one to each side of the folded album in the middle.

Step 6
Stamp snowflakes all over the 5 1/2" cardstock on one side. Using mono tape, adhere to the smaller 5 1/4 cardstock. Fold over the edges and make a cover for the smaller pieces. Glue down the 5 1/4" pieces on each side of the album and tie the ribbon together.

Step 7
On a scratch piece of cardstock, stamp the truck and tree and numbers for the year you want to add to the cover. Color using watercolor pencils and blender pens. Glue down on the front of the card.

Stamps used for this are Loads of Love, Snow flurries and Headline Numbers.

Birthday Central

I made this card for my sister-in-laws birthday. I ran out of time to run to the store and threw this together in just a few minutes. I used barely banana, lavendar lace and whisper white card stock, Heartfelt thanks stamp set and Small Sayings stamp set. As you can see this is very simple and I only used brads for the embellishment on this one.

It's that time of year again!

So here is a very easy but messy project for a graduation card. It is bleached with oxy clean. You will need a brayer, paper towels, newspaper, oxy clean, embossing powder, heat tool, versa mark and card stock. I chose Bravo Burgundy and More Mustard for this card because of the receipiants school colors.

Step 1
Over whisper white card stock, cover entire area with your choice of a color. This works best with a dark color.

Step 2
Place colored paper over a piece of newspaper and sprinkle with oxy clean. Spray with water and let absorb for 30 seconds. Wipe off the oxy clean and you will have the bleached effect seen above. Let Dry. This takes awhile, so if you have another project to work on this would be a good time.

Step 3
Using the versa mark stamp on the the cardstock that matches the oxy clean piece using the Class of Stamp and 07 or whatever year you are making the card for. Sprinkle your choice of embossing color and heat.

Step 4
Cut out using 1 1/4 inch square punch around the Class of stamp and using a scissors cut out the 07. The other color should be cut out as a background with the 1 3/8 inch square punch. Glue the 07 to the other cardstock and cut around.

Step 5
Once the oxy clean cardstock is dry, stamp graduation images all over using the same color of ink you brayed on. Adhere the cut out pieces.

Stamp sets used for this card is Tassle Time and fun numbers.