Stamp Your Heart Out

I couldn’t let the 4th of July go by without a Patriotic card.  I made this for the Ways to Use it Challenge on SCS.  The challenge was to use your scoring tool as part of an embellishment on your card.  I used my bone folder and Fiskars cutter to score this card every 1/2″.  The center was masked off with a 2″ post it note.  I used the scoring blade to line up where I wanted to score and then used my bone folder so the score line would be wider.  That was not an easy task. 

After the Whisper White layer was all scored I stamped the large star from In the Stars in Not Quite Navy using my Stamp-a-ma-jig to get the placement perfect.  I then added the two smaller stars in Real Red that were cut out and popped up on dimensionals.  I added a Vintage brad and some paper piercing.  To break up the white I used some Real Red striped grosgrain ribbon.  The sentiment is from Fundamental Phrases and is punched out with the Word Window punch and layered on a Large Oval punch.  I added more vintage brads and set this up on dimensionals as well. 

I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July! 

Jenn

P.S.  Happy Belated Canada day to all of my Canadian friends!

stamps - In the Stars, Fundamental Phrases

paper - Not Quite Navy, Real Red, Whisper White

ink - Not Quite Navy, Real Red

accessories - bone folder, mat pack, vintage brads, real red striped grosgrain, large oval punch, word window punch, dimensionals

 After I made my Featured Stamper card (see my Post on July 1st), I had a dream about turning the layout into a Christmas card.  After I got the kids fed and settled I sat down and stamped 10 of these.   They went super quickly and they look very elegant.  I used Very Vanilla and Real Red for my cardstock and ribbon and added in Old Olive ink.  My Christmas card box now contains 70 cards!

Tomorrow is the 4th of July so I am excited for another 3 day weekend.  The fireworks aren’t scheduled until Saturday, but we don’t even have to leave our neighborhood to go see them, so that is nice.  I’m hoping for a weekend filled with nice weather and I hope we can all just kick back and relax. 

Jenn

stamps - Peaceful Wishes

paper - Very Vanilla, Real Red

ink - Real Red and Old Olive Stampin’ Write Markers, Old Olive classic ink

accessories - ticket corner punch, dimensionals, vintage brads, paper piercer, SAMJ, 5/8″ Real Red Grosgrain ribbon

Remember when I mentioned you may be wanting to get a blank canvas of your own.  Well it would be to make this awesome altered project.  The Got Sketch 101 class has come to an end, although everything will be up until the end of August if you still wanted to check it out, and this was the final altered project.  Now I didn’t have a canvas at home, but when I saw the project sheet I ran right out to Michael’s to pick one up.  I think the entire process took me about two hours and I am so happy with the results.  I used Spring Break designer series paper, Blue Bayou double stitched ribbon, Pretties Kit Rhinestone brads and some Mod Podge. 

So how many of you are going to be making your own this 4th of July weekend?

Jenn

paper - Spring Break dsp

Accessories - 1 3/8″ circle punch, pretties kit, mod podge, making memories clip, stampin’ up clip, blue bayou ds ribbon, heavy duty staple gun

I guess I’m on a Hello and Hi theme this week.  Or it’s just that my Fundamental Phrase set has been sitting out on my table lately.  This card was made as part of the Featured Stamper Challenge.  This week chelemom was the Featured Stamper and it was fun to CASE a card of someone who lives relatively close to where I do.  I picked this card from her gallery. 

I liked the elegant simplicity of it and how her image just pops.  I didn’t have any vellum cardstock, so I decided that I would mat white on white and then pop the main image up on dimensionals to give it a little help.  I love the results!  I stayed with 3 colors, Whisper White, Regal Rose and Always Artichoke.  I added a few silver eyelets and some Regal Rose grosgrain ribbon to break up the white a little bit. 

I am so excited!  Today is July 1st and as a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator we are getting a preview of what is to come in the brand new catalog.  I have 4 free sets to chose from and I know this is going to be the hardest decision I have to make.  I am also going to pre-order all of the new 2009 InColors.  If you haven’t heard they are Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Pacific Point and Baja Breeze.  They are just gorgeous!

My big project will be posted here tomorrow.  See you then!  I know you are going to want to get a nice blank canvas of your own. 

Jenn

stamps - Embrace Life, Fundamental Phrases

paper - Whisper White, Regal Rose

ink- Basic Gray, Regal Rose, Always Artichoke

accessories - AquaPainter, ticket corner punch, dimensionals, mat pack, silver brads, regal rose grosgrain ribbon

On Saturday I had a few minutes to sit down and stamp, so I pulled up the Insiration Challenge on SCS.  The Inspiration piece was this State Fair Quilt by Garnet Hill.   When I sit down to look at an inspiration piece I look at several things.  The first is usually the colors.  I wrote down Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Real Red and Soft Sky.  I then try to figure out a layout based on what I saw.  See that neat white chest at the foot of the bed?  The texture on it reminded me of a crimped piece of paper.  Directly above that are the squares of the quilt.  The dresser pulls reminded me of brads and my Stitched Exotics stamp set seemed like it would be a perfect fit for the large white flowers.  I pulled out my supplies and sat down to stamp. 

I don’t know about you, but once I have an idea in my head and have my supplies gathered I just get lost in my project.  I had this card completed really quickly and I love how it turned out.

I started with a Soft Sky base, and added Whisper White along with a crimped strip of Whisper White cardstock.  I tied a simple Real Red striped grosgrain bow around this layer.  I then started on my squares.  I stamped images from Stitched Exotics onto each color of cardstock and then punched them out with my 1 1/4″ square punch.  I wanted the flowers to be off center.  The center block has the stitched leaf stamped onto it, but it was very hard to get it to show up in the photograph.  The squares are matted onto Chocolate Chip 1 3/8″ squares that are sponged in Chocolate Chip ink.  I added Vintage brads and set the squares up on dimensionals to give them a little pop.  I then added my sentiment from Fundamental Phrases on a Whisper White small oval and matted it on a Real Red large oval punch.  I cut off one end and added it to my base. 

So what do you think?  I have a very neat project that you won’t want to miss all scheduled to post this week, so keep checking back!

Jenn

stamps - Stitched Exotics, Fundamental Phrases

paper - Soft Sky, Real Red, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip

ink- Chocolate Chip, Whisper White craft

accessories - crimper, 1 1/4 and 1 3/8″ square punches, dimensionals, 1/16″ hole punch, vintage brads, large and small oval punches, real red striped grosgrain

I normally don’t make tall cards.  I seem to stick to the standard A-2 variety, so I almost skipped this sketch.  However I really liked the sample card that was provided courtesy of the Got Sketch 101 class, so I made one anyway.  I did change up my patterned paper and used a stamp set instead of a flower. 

The base of the card is Rose Red and the designer series paper is Bali Breeze.  I made two different sized scallops.  The scallops that are on the vertical piece of Old Olive patterned paper are made with the 3/16″ corner rounder.  The horizontal ones on the Taken with Teal patterned paper are made with the slit punch. 

This card has a window in it and the Thank you layer is actually attached to the inside back of the card.  To make this I cut a circle out of my cardstock base with my coluzzle.  I then added the ribbon through the circle and through a slit I made in the spine of the card. 

I just got the Lovely Labels stamp set and I have been using it a lot lately.  I really love the sentiments with the swirls around them.

Well today is Sunday.  It is Roger’s turn to take Colin to church.  I have a feeling that Colin will try to talk him in to bringing donuts home afterward.  Daddy is more of a push over that way than I am.  I just stick to my grocery list instead. 

I hope you all have a nice relaxing end to your weekend. 

Jenn

Stamps - Lovely Labels

Paper - Rose Red, Bali Breeze dsp, whisper white, pumpkin pie

Ink - taken with teal

Accessories - buttons, 3/16″ corner rounder, coluzzle, 1 3/8″ circle punch, scallop punch, pumpkin pie and teal ribbon, slit punch

I completed a two page layout outside of the Got Sketch 101 class.  I am so proud of myself.  I took the class to give myself a boost to start scrapbooking again, but I also want to keep on scrapbooking now that I started.  I’m planning on having a new page or two page layout up on the weekends.  I’m not committing to a day, because I don’t like to make myself feel like I have to do it.  I want it to be because I want to do it.  We had a few rainy days that allowed me to get these two pages done. 

A few weeks ago Colin went to a birthday party for his friend who lives across the street from us.  They had won a silent auction item that was a Fireman birthday party.  The Bourbonnais Fire department brought a Fire truck and ambulance.  They showed the kids what a fire fighter looks like in full gear, told them what to do in case of a fire and other fire safety tips.  They also let them see the inside of the truck and ambulance.  When they were done they hooked the hoses up to the hydrants and played a few water games with the kids.  Roger took these pictures because I stayed at home with Evan.  It was around the time he was still running a fever and not feeling 100%.  I did get to see a few of the neighbors looking to see if the house across the street was on fire or not.  It’s not often you see a truck hooked up to the hydrant and spraying water. 

The kids had a lot of fun and we got some really good photos.  I ordered some more 12 X 12 papers and designer series papers just for my scrapbooking projects.  I chose nice summery colors and themes and I think they work really well with these pages. 

I used a Bashful Blue base for both pages and paired it up with Jersey Shore designer series paper.  I also used the Enjoy Every Moment stamp set for my journaling on this page.  I didn’t notice my mistake until the pages were complete, so I’m not going back to fix it now.  Colin often writes letters backward, so I can just play it off as a kid thing.  Do you see what I did? 

Here is page two.  To make my journaling block I used Whisper White paper and used my Spiral punch.  I then stamped it with the lined stamp from Live Your Dream and matted it with Brilliant Blue cardstock.  I can’t say I use that color often, but it works with this paper.  I then added a Rounded tab punch to the top. 

This sketch comes from the Got Sketch blog. 

Jenn

I can’t believe it is Friday already!  The summer is just flying by.  I’m looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend at home.  Those are a rare and far between.  We have our local town Friendship Festival going on and we’ve never actually been in town for it before.  I think we may try to go see the parade tonight and then go the Family day tomorrow.  That all depends up on the weather.  We’ve had thunderstorms the last few mornings and the afternoon clears up only to be very hot and very humid. 

I made this card for the Sketch Challenge on Wednesday.  I wanted to use some Berry Bliss paper since it’s been a while since I played with it.  I punched squares of it out with the 1 1/4″ square punch and then matted them on Chocolate Chip squares with the 1 3/8″ square punch.  When I decided where each color of designer paper would go I then rounded the outside corner of each of them.  I did use a million and one dimensionals on this card (okay, it is a bit of an exaggeration).  Each square is popped up as is the center layer. 

After using all of the paper I didn’t want my main image to be too fussy or elaborate.  I stamped the bird from Always in Chocolate Chip in and then the sentiment in Purely Pomegranate, which is the same color as the base of the card.  I added 2 vintage brads with the help of my mat pack and then a rich satin Chocolate chip bow to tie it all together. 

Come back tomorrow to see my latest scrapbooking page.  I did it outside of the Got Sketch 101 class.  I’m hoping to have a new page each Saturday or Sunday to share with you. 

Jenn

Stamps - Always

Paper - Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip, Berry Bliss dsp, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White

Ink- Chocolate Chip, Purely Pomegranate

Accessories - corner rounder, dimensionals (million and one), vintage brads, mat pack, SAMJ, Chocolate Chip Satin ribbon

What a great motto to live by. My Decor Elements arrived yesterday. I just bought one for the time being because I wanted to see what it looked like on my wall. I wasn’t sure of where I was going to put it, but we were sitting and eating a late dinner when UPS arrived. I looked up at the wall space above my kitchen sink and had an “ah ha” moment. This part of the wall opens up to our great room and we spend a lot of time in the kitchen and at the kitchen table. I can also see this wall from the doorway of our master bedroom. Did I ever mention that although our house is new it is relatively small? I’ve learned over the years that the less space you have the less you have to clean, so I’m happy with that.

Anyway I got the Live Every Moment sentiment and I love it! I can’t stop looking at it. Now I will need to get each of the boy’s names to put in their rooms and I want the Silhouette and the Lollipop Flowers and the Create definition for my stamp room wall. If you are interested in seeing a brochure just let me know. I am so excited about the new product line that will be out on July 1st.

So now that you’ve seen them on my wall, what do you think?

Jenn

ETA: My wine photos are from LTD Commodities and can be found here.

Wow, I want to thank all of you who tagged me the last two days.  It’s so nice to know that people enjoy visiting my blog and remember it enough to nominate me for things. 

I was tagged by Miss Boo at Designs by Boo and by Jamie at Stampin’ Mommy of 4. 

So now I need 7 Random Facts about myself:

1).  I spent most of my life fighting my naturally curly hair and now that I am older I love it.  I call it wash and wear.  I don’t even have to dry it!

2).  I’m not much of a girlie girl.  I don’t own any makeup and I am right at home in comfy jeans and a T-shirt.

3).  I never considered myself to be a crafty person.  It wasn’t until I started playing around with digital graphics that I found a passion for creating.  I never knew it would transistion from computer graphics to paper. 

4).  I am a huge animal person.  We have 1 dog (Sophie, who is 10) and 2 cats (Figaro, 8 and Gilbert 3)

5).  I am borderline OCD when it comes to keeping things clean.  I can’t stand a mess and have a cleaning schedule.  I have my kids convinced that cleaning is a game and they help me each morning.

6).  I love to read.  I have read myself to sleep ever since I can remember.  I love Stephanie Plum books and have Number 14 waiting to be read right now.

7).  I don’t cook dinner.  Instead my husband and I go to Dinner by Design and make our dinners for a month at a time.  This was my suggestion to save more time for stamping and it actually saves us money too!

Now to tag 7 Random People -

I am not good at picking so I chose to pick 7 Control Freak Swappers.

Julie

Lisa

Melanie

Wendy

Chat

Karen

Erin

I was nominated for the Kreativ Blogger Award by Carol at Stamp Like Crazy

I tag:

Patty

Roxy

Now that it’s stopped raining I can hopefully pick up my photo order from Walmart! 

Jenn