Thursday, June 30, 2011

Color Inspiration #160


This is the 60th week of Stamping 411 Color Inspiration Challenges. Wow! Time sure flies when you're having fun!!!

This week we are finally seeing summer temperatures here in MN. It's about time!!! The pool has been calling my name. I make a deal with myself. I get my housework and stamping projects done in the morning so I can take some "me" time to float in the pool with a Nora Roberts' novel.

This week's Color Inspiration Challenge was inspired by the towel I used to dry off. Years ago, we bought all these fun towels at BJs Wholesale Club. I just love the fun color combinations!!!!


This week's colors are Pacific Point, Tempting Turquoise and Pear Pizzazz.

Are you ready to play with these fun colors? I hope so!!! If you make a project, please use the Linky at the bottom of this post to link your project's web address to the Stamping 411 blog.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Featured Artist Denise Willerton

Good Morning Stampers!

There are so many amazing artists that play along with the operators on Stamping 411 on a weekly basis. We really love to take the time to highlight our friends from time to time. With that in mind for the month of July, we asked our friend Denise Willerton a.k.a chezmoicreations to be our featured stamper for the month of July.

After seeing the COOLEST little strawberry on her blog, we asked Denise if she'd like to be an honorary operator for this month, and she said YES! :D So very exciting!! Please take a peek at Denise's blog and show her some love (with a comment) so she knows that you love her tutorial as much as we do!

I asked Denise to write a little bit about herself and this is what she wrote:

"What an honour to have been asked by the amazingly talented gals at Stamping 411 to join them for the month of July. I sure have very large shoes to fill, and I will do my best. I am a mother to three wonderful adults who are married to the best 'in-law adults' you could ever be blessed with. We have three grandson's and another little one the way in October??? I love to share my stampin' toys with my friends and always enjoy our times together. My family is very important to me and will pretty much drop everything for them, my relationship with the Lord and my family are my biggest passions in life. God is good! The strawberry was an inspiration that I saw at Linda's Stampin Loft. "

Thank you so very much Denise for agreeing to be our featured stamper! So here is a little special treat for you! Denise has made a printable, step by step tutorial on how to make the VERY COOL summer strawberry shown above. Click here to view the tutorial.

Enjoy!
Selene~



Friday, June 24, 2011

Saturday Sketch Challenge 209

Welcome friends! Kerin here sharing tonight's new sketch with you, but before we get to that I have some news to share with you. This will be my last week with Stamping 411. This is a decision that has taken me quite some time to come to, and I will truly miss the wonderful group of Operators and dear friends, as well as the inspiring entries from our players!

As readers of my blog know, I began working full time last fall. I know this is going to sound ridiculous, but wow, I had no idea how little time I'd have leftover after working all day and maintaining a household! (I worked 3 hours a day previously and had plenty of time for my favorite pastime, ie. stamping :) Throw in my two boys that play on 3 different baseball teams that travel and it gets downright chaotic. Over the past 8 months or so, we have also encountered some serious health issues with my dad, that have required numerous trips to Boston. In short, I needed to figure out what I could cut out to keep up with the rat race that is my life right now, and the only "optional" task I have is the one I hold with Stamping 411, so I had to make the tough decision to let go.

I'll be honest with you, I worry that I won't stamp at all if I don't maintain my weekly schedule of stamping for Stamping 411, but right now that is not a fear I can succumb to. I love my time in my stamping room, and I hope to get back to it and maybe even play along with the challenges some time in the future.

I wanted to thank you all for the support and inspiration you've shown over the last year that I've been with Stamping 411...now without further ado, here's the sketch this week, we sure hope you'll play along :)

Here are some possible measurements for your creation:

Layer 1: 5-1/2 x 8-1/2", scored at 4-1/4"
Layer 2: 5-3/8 x 4-1/8"
Layer 3: Three pieces - 2-3/8 x 3-7/8", 1-3/8 x 3-7/8", 1-3/8 x 4"
Layer 4: Focal Image

So are you ready to see what the Operators have come up with for you this week?



Wow! Aren't they great? Never played with us before?? Well, it's easy! Sky's the limit!
  1. Make a card using your Stampin' Up Supplies!
  2. Post it online somewhere to your blog or other online forum
  3. Post a link to the free linky tool below (please point the link to your post and NOT just your blog).
  4. Have some fun and leave comments for each other (and for the operators if you like their work). ~ Everyone loves comments!
  5. Please note, we reserve the right to remove links with non-Stampin' Up! product, "sales pitches", links to online stores, or requests to join your team. We're here to have fun, learn from one another and share.

We hope you join us this week and play along with this sketch! But don't delay our links will close at 8AM on Thursday morning Eastern Standard Time.

Stamper's Showcase #208


Thanks to all who played along with our Sketch challenge this past week! Here are your Operator Picks for Challenge #208!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Takin’ It To the Top with Pennant Parade!






Hello everyone and welcome to Takin’ It to the Top on Stamping 411, our monthly feature where we take one basic card and step-it-up two times to fabulous and beyond! We hope to show you what a difference it can make in your stamping projects when you add just a few extra elements – texture, color, layers, dimension, embellishments, etc.








Today’s cards feature the new stamp set, Pennant Parade, available from Stampin’ Up! beginning July 1st in the new 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog. It uses a bit of Cheerful Treat Designer Series Paper (a new Hostess option) and the colors of Concord Crush, Bashful Blue, Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizzazz!


Above is our first card. It’s basic and simple, but it’s also fine as it is. The scalloped pennant images are stamped directly on the Bashful Blue cardstock and the inset triangles are punched with the new Petite Pennants Builder Punch (also in the new catalog). The ribbon is 1/4” Certainly Celery Grosgrain and the sentiment was stamped with Black Stazon Ink.


Okay, ready to step this basic card up just a bit? You can see that we’ve added some dimension by punching out both pieces of the pennant (scallop backing and triangle) and mounting them with Stampin’ Dimensionals. I used the Big Shot and the Perfect Polka Dots Impression Folder to give the Bashful Blue layer some texture. I changed out the ribbon to 1/2” Poly Twill in Concord Crush to add even more texture and contrast. And, I added an additional touch of whimsy and contrast by putting a Scallop Punch Border on the DSP layer in Melon Mambo.



And now, we’re ready to take this card to the top! Now remember, when you add elements it will take you longer to complete your cards and projects. But for a really special card for a really special person, isn’t it worth it?




And here’s the final card with even more texture, color, layers and dimension!


I inked the edges of the Bashful Blue layer with Concord Crush Ink. I switched the bow to the other side for more balance. I added some embossing to the triangle inserts in the pennants with the Big Shot and various Impression Folders. I stamped the scallop border on each of the scallop Pennant punched pieces and attached them so they look as if they are hanging on a line, using White Baker’s Twine, adding a tiny bow at each end. Finally, I added a couple of very tiny embellishments, a flower punched with the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack and a butterfly cut with the Beautiful Wings Embosslet and the Big Shot. Each of those are further embellished with tiny Basic Pearls.





So, there you go – three different card using the same colors, stamp sets and basic design and stepping each one up just a bit to add interest and make it more special!


I’m so glad you came for a visit at Stamping 411 today! If you find yourself stepping up your cards and projects a bit this week, we would love to see what you do. Just leave us a link to your blog post below! We can’t wait to see how you take your projects TO THE TOP!


We hope you’ll visit again soon!


Friday, June 17, 2011

Saturday Sketch Challenge 208

Good Evening Friends!!!

TGIF! I can't wait to spend the weekend with the hubby! In this busy world we all live in, it's what we (my daughter and I) look forward to all week long!

Wishing all of the dad's out there a very special wish for some spoiling on Sunday..

Moving right along to tonight's post. I'm so very excited to say that many of our operators went WAY outside the box on this week's sketch! I think that's AWESOME. What does this sketch remind you of.. You may use this sketch to create anything you want, even a scrapbook page or 3d work of ART!

So ~ if you were a beginner stamper (we have so many experts playing along).... one set of measurements might be....

Base: 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored and folded in half at 4 1/4"
Layer 2: 4 x 5 1/4"
Layer 3: 4 1/4" x 3 1/4" (you get six pieces from one 8 1/2" x 11)
Layer 4: 4 x 3" (this layer you get more by cutting a 12 x 12.... 12 pieces to be exact)
Then for the focal point you could measure the block you're stamping with.. (this even works for clear mount stamps).

Above all, please have fun with it... that's what it's all about!


Now ~ Let's see what my talented teammates have for you tonight!Connie Babbert



Lee Conrey



Patti Chesky



Gretchen Barron


Kerin Sylvester




Tiffany Bauer



Selene Kempton

Wow! Aren't they great? Never played with us before?? Well, it's easy! Sky's the limit!
  1. Make a card using your Stampin' Up Supplies!
  2. Post it online somewhere to your blog or other online forum
  3. Post a link to the free linky tool below (please point the link to your post and NOT just your blog).
  4. Have some fun and leave comments for each other (and for the operators if you like their work). ~ Everyone loves comments!
  5. Please note, we reserve the right to remove links with non-Stampin' Up! product, "sales pitches", links to online stores, or requests to join your team. We're here to have fun, learn from one another and share.

We hope you join us this week and play along with this sketch! But don't delay our links will close at 8AM on Thursday morning Eastern Standard Time.

Rubbah hugs,
Selene Kempton

Stamper's Showcase #207




What a great week of creativity on Stamping 411! Thanks to all who participated in last week's sketch challenge. Here are your Operator Picks for Sketch Challenge #207!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Color Inspiration #159



Hey stampers! Every now and again, I force myself to use a color that really isn't my cup of tea. As much as I love all the bright and pretty colors, I know I can't play with them all the time.



So, today we play with Basic Gray. I know....I know.....there's lots of you who think I am crazy to not love this color. I know so many of you do! I am just not a gray lover.......and it's not because I have to religiously color my hair every 4 weeks to hide this color either! LOL!!!

This week's color challenge is Basic Gray, Old Olive and Not Quite Navy.

Strange, huh?

Here's the card I made to give you a starting point...........


I hope you play along with this week's color challenge. If you make a project, please link the project's web address to this post using the Linky Tool below.

Card Recipe
stamps: The Open Sea, Sincere Salutations

paper: Basic Gray, Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, Newsprint dsp

ink: Old Olive, Basic Gray, Not Quite Navy, Versamark

accessories: 2 1/2" circle punch, Decorative Label punch, Paper Piercing tool, white embossing powder, sponge

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

"How To" Wednesday~ Spray Painting!!

Hi Everyone,

I’ve got a great little technique I came up with last week that I want to share with you.

Spray Painting 037
Isn’t it pretty? I hope you like it.
Here is how I did it….and these are some of the supplies you will need. Alcohol, Re-inkers (I’ve used Calypso Coral and So Saffron). Black Emobssing
Powder, Powder Pal, Embossing Buddy, Versamark, Black Embossing Powder, Heat Tool,Champagne Shimmer Paint and Mister Bottles. You might want to add lots of Paper Towels as this gets messy.
Spray Painting 001 Here are your supplies
Spray Painting 002 Rub over Whisper White Cardstock with your Embossing Buddy to prevent specks of Embossing Powder from Sticking to where you don’t want it.
Spray Painting 003 Stamp Images with Versamark
Spray Painting 007 Pour Embossing Powder over your Powder Pal and gently shake excess off.
Spray Painting 008 You know what…do a lot at one time and have extras on hand to create fast and beautiful cards later.
Spray Painting 011 Heat set with your Stampin’ Up! Heat Tool
Spray Painting 012 Now comes the fun!!! Take your Alcohol and your Re-inkers, Shimmer Paint and Misters and get ready to get messy and have fun!
Spray Painting 013 Fill your bottle about 3/4 full with alcohol.
Spray Painting 014 Then add Re-inker Drops. I think I did about 12 and it wasn’t dark enough so I did a few more. You can adjust to your liking.
Spray Painting 015 Next add a little Shimmer Paint simply by taking the wand from the Mister and dipping into the shimmer paint about three times or to your liking. Put top back on Mister and gently shake…..
Spray Painting 023 I sprayed onto my grid paper and then thought….Duh!! Where are my paper towels. I did see the beginning of something beautiful though! hehe!
Spray Painting 024 Take your sheet of embossed flowers and start lightly spraying to where you’d like the different colors. I started with the saffron Spray Paint.
Spray Painting 026 Then the Calypso Coral….you can go back and make it more intense or do a little of each on every flower.
Spray Painting 030 Then I took it one step further and wanted to create some background paper with this technique. So I lightly sprayed some of both colors on a piece of Whisper White Cardstock and let dry. Oh yes even though it alcohol you do wet the paper and have to let it dry for a few.
Spray Painting 032 While that was drying I started to cut some flowers out.
Spray Painting 033 ….these are what is left for another card later!!
Spray Painting 034 I decided to do a little crimping to enhance the beauty of the paper and flowers and will cover that next time.
Spray Painting 037 …and here is the assembled card using So Saffron for the base and always a Mat of Black to make the whole thing POP!!
I hope you enjoyed this Tutorial!! Back to the Drawing Board for more fun things to share!! See you next time!!
Lee