Happy Birthday to Me!

I recently celebrated a birthday and have to share some of the amazing cards I received! Lots of fun folds!!

    From my sister Anne who is an avid stamper...and wine drinker 😉 Z-fold cards are such fun!

     My co-worker Lori created this twist n pop card. After opening it, I went home and made one. I'll post it soon. I opened and closed this one throughout my work day. Love it!

     This card contained an amazingly sweet note. It is from my son; he took the card from my stash 😂. He has great taste!

     This last card came from my two crafty sweeties Mila, age 5 and Neva, age 3. I can't imagine how much time Mila spent creating this amazing rainbow. She used 1/2" square pieces of paper! The garden she created on the inside of the card is also beautiful. Check out Neva's stamping talents! There is so much heart in the cards these talented young ladies create💕

My birthday celebration lasted three days! I didn't think birthdays would be so much fun at this age. Hope you enjoy my cards as much as I do.

Sweet Treats!

I invited two neighbors in for an afternoon of stamping. We had a wonderful time. Because there were only two people, the cards we made were a bit more involved. Prior to starting the third card, I popped a pan of homemade cinnamon rolls into the oven. We enjoyed them with coffee and tea after all of the hard work!

It was so sweet when Chris commented on the afternoon and how she enjoyed being spoiled. She said that as a mom, she isn't often spoiled and she really enjoyed the afternoon. I like to spoil my stampers! I always create a treat for each stamper as a stamping favor. Spoiler Alert! Hee-hee, pun intended 😄

I followed a tutorial by Julie DiMatteo at The Paper Pixie. The ladies loved them!

Here is one of the cards we made. This chick just cracks me up!

I'm planning my class for next month and will offer it at multiple times so I can keep the class size low and comfortable for everyone. I miss my groups of stampers.

Hope you find some RnR in your craft space today!

Happy Birthday Jaxon!

Today my middle Little, Jaxon, turns 7! He was born in Louisiana. I was able to hold out until August and then had to take a road trip to take in as many baby snuggles and smooches as I could get in a five day stretch. I was so happy when my nephew moved his family to Wisconsin. Although my Littles are 2 hours away from my home, I see them regularly. I love those little squirrels!

Typical of most kids, Jaxon likes to play video games. He received a vintage Pac Man game for Christmas. I thought he'd enjoy this card.

My other 2 littles have birthdays in March. I'll be sure to share the cards I make for them.

Happy Birthday Jaxon! I love you to the moon and back 💖💖💖

Valentine Wishes

This past weekend I shopped for chocolate and came home to play in my craft room. Paper and chocolate - who could ask for more??

Buffalo check is still all the rage so I thought I'd incorporate it into a Valentine card.

I pulled out the retired Sweet and Sassy Framelits and added some embossing for interest. This would be appropriate for a male or female.

Now for the chocolate.

I filled an A2 Acetate box with Dove Dark chocolate and a string of fairy lights. The piece of DSP was embossed with a retired heart folder. I randomly placed a few punched hearts into the embossed impressions. Prior to gifting, I will turn on the lights - too cute!

I dove into my stash and found a retired vessel to fill with Reese's Butter Peanut Butter Cups as my son called them when he was little. The box includes a gift card and is a Valentine treat for my now 22 year old.

I hope you're making use of the great Stampin' Up! products you have on hand.

Sweet wishes to you!

Start the Month With a Pop

Sometimes it's fun to have a good play in the craft room; you never know what may pop up!

My neighbor asked me to create Christmas, anniversary and birthday cards for her family for 2021. She had quite the list! She asked for pop-up cards for the anniversaries. I had the tutorial and then perused my stash to find paper I thought would work. Neither card was completed in one sitting. I took my time creating and had fun doing so. 

I added a pocket to the back of the box and created a coordinating card so a note and gift card, check or cash could be included. I did make bespoke envelopes for each of the cards.

I hope the cards are enjoyed!

Let the Sparkle Continue!

 If you're looking for a way to add some sparkle to the next treat or host gift you give, look no further.

I cased (copied and shared) this idea from Rhonda Wade, such fun!

A dear friend invited me for dinner and I wanted to take a special treat. I mixed together some homemade caramels, an acetate card box, some silver and gold wrappers, ribbon and embellishments. The real spakle in the box? Fairy lights! As I tucked my caramels in the box I threaded a strand of fairy lights into the box. I used a 4" wide piece of dsp to wrap the box and finished it with white ribbon, silver sequinned ribbon, silver and gold braid. Before leaving my car to enter my friend's home, I turned on the fairy lights.

Other sweets to add to the box would be Dove or Merci chocolates, mini Hershey bars or other sweets that don't exceed 5/8" in height. Think Valentine's Day!

You can find the fairy lights here. If you'd like to make the caramels, they're really quite easy.

Homemade Caramels

1/2 lb butter with salt (2 sticks)

2 1/2 C light brown sugar

1 C light corn syrup

1 C sweetened condensed milk

Combine ingredients in an 8 cup bowl, cover with parchment paper.

Microwave on 100% for 5 minutes, stir well with a wire whisk. (watch closely for boil over, just open microwave to stop cooking, let it settle down and continue cooking again.)

Microwave another 5 minutes, stir well.

Microwave another 5 minutes, stir well.

(Place a plate under the bowl to catch any boil over, and return it to bowl.)

After microwaving is done, stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

Line a 10 x 15 cookie sheet/jelly roll tin with parchment paper, having paper up all 4 sides of the pan.

Pour the hot caramel mixture into pan and let cool completely.

When cool, lift parchment with caramel out of the pan, cut into bite size pieces. To cut caramels, use a pizza knife or a sharp chef's knife. Spray with Pam to make it even easier.

I made this in a 1000 watt microwave; you may have to lengthen cooking time 1-2 minutes in other microwaves.

If you like a sweet/salty taste, after caramel is cool, sprinkle sea salt on top of it.

I cut into 1/2" x 1" logs and wrapped it in papers from the candy making area at Hobby Lobby. I bought 2 packages of 48 wrappers each; I could have used 3. You can also cut your own waxed paper.

Enjoy!

Winter Sparkle

I've stepped out of my home to some beautiful January Wisconsin mornings. These sites were the inspiration for my holiday thank you notes this year. 

It's a bit difficult to see the embossed layer of "snow".

Wink of Stella to the rescue! 

The layered bit of red in the tag comes from an envelope/card I received many years ago. It has a velvety texture; I just couldn't throw it away!

When looking out my craft room window, this image is a common site - including the cardinal!

Happy stamping!
 

Celebrate Sunflowers and Live Stamping!

I am so excited about welcoming stampers back to my table! We're keeping the the groups to three plus me to allow space between us. I've missed catching up with everyone!

We're creating with the Celebrate Sunflowers bundle.

I started making samples to share and have gone a bit crazy with this bundle. From traditional fall colors to Whisper White to Mango Melody, you can dress up this bundle in all kinds of color!

Here is a sample card I cased from fellow Pal, Peggy Noe. Unfortunately, I have a need for sympathy cards. The good news is this bundle is perfect for the job.

We'll be making three different cards. I had difficulty choosing which designs we'll be creating - I love them all!

If you're in the West Bend area and would like to learn to stamp or to enjoy an evening of stamping with new friends, be sure to contact me.

October 1-31st, 2020

www.RnRStamping.com

 

24 Hour Stamp Sale!

SAVE THE DATE

Starting this Wednesday, September 23rd

for 24 hours ONLY!

The biggest stamp sale 

on selected stamp sets

15% off!

For the list of stamp sets

Click HERE

 Click to shop RnR Stamping

The Holiday Mini Catalog is LIVE!

Pour yourself a cuppa and enjoy the 

2020 Holiday Mini Catalog!

Click HERE to view a pdf of the catalog

When you go to my online store to shop, you'll notice the site has been redesigned!

Here are some key features of our new online store:

• Designed to work seamlessly on desktops, tablets, and mobile phones
• New and improved store navigation
• Larger imagery
• New sorting and filtering options allowing you to find things more easily
• Inventory status information so you can make an informed purchase decision
• Create and share up to 10 personalized wish lists 
• New ‘Quick Shop’ feature makes it easy to add items to your cart
• Simplified checkout process

Ready to check out the new online store and shop? Click the button below to shop with me!

PLEASE NOTE: If you created a customer profile in the old site, your account information and password still work with the new site! If you rely on your browser to remember your login information, it won’t recognize the new site, so you’ll need to type in your password. If you’ve forgotten your password, you can click the “Forgot Password” link on the new online store’s sign-in page and follow the steps to reset your password. The reset password email will come from noreply@info.stampinup.com. If you still have trouble accessing your account, please call Stampin’ Up! at 800-STAMP-UP (800-782-6787).

I hope you enjoy the new Mini Catalog and Online Store! 

Donut Get Older

Donut Get Older. That was the theme for Neva Grace's 3rd birthday party. Gracey is little sister to one of my fans, Mila, who you may have read about in this blog.

When I learned the party theme, I made a quick trip to Pinterest - really, it was quick! There are lots of creative donut lovers out there!

This is my final project:

I started with a 4 1/4" x 8 1/2" piece of Blushing Bride cardstock and scored it at 4 1/4".

Years back, SU! had a circle die cut that would have worked for this project; I think I gave that set of dies to my sister. I dug through my stash and found a tool from early in the century that I used for scrapbooking (makes me sound kinda old...) to make the circle. You could use a plate, a lid from a container, a bowl. Look around your house for something that's 4"-ish round.

Draw the circle onto the folded cardstock. Be sure to go off of the folded edge a bit; this will create the fold for your card. Cut out your circle. The edges don't have to be perfect - it's a donut!

Using the smallest circle from the Layering Circles die set, cut the middle of the donut.

On a 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" piece of Flirty Flamingo, cut another circle, the same size as the base. Free cut this piece with a goal of wavy, uneven edges. Think dripping frosting, yum!

Cut a hole in the center of the frosting using the same small circle die. Use your snips to cut around the center, again with a goal of an imperfect cut. This is your opportunity! Imperfect cuts - woo hoo! 

I used a scalloped punch for the "bite" and trimmed the frosting around it with my snips.

Layer your frosting on the donut, I used Tombow, and trim if needed.

Cut 1/8" pieces of Blushing Bride, Flirty Flamingo and Pool Party, then cut them to sprinkle size.

To adhere the sprinkles, I picked up each piece with my Take Your Pick Tool. I squeezed a bit of Tombow glue onto my Silicone Craft Sheet, dipped each spinkle into the glue and adhered it to the frosting.

The sentiment came from a retired SAB set, Hello Cupcake. The Triple Banner punch made the flags and I popped it up with dimensionals.

Best thing about this donut?? No calories!!

___________________________

Have you been holding off on placing your order from the new catalog? SU! is offering a special deal in the month of July. For each $50 purchase, you will receive a $5 coupon to use in August. HINT: The holiday mini catalog premiers in August. It has lots of new products and ideas for you.

SHOP HERE

___________________________

Need a catalog? Let me know. I'll pop one in the mail to you.

Let's Celebrate You

A while back, I posted a card featuring the new in colors using a technique from Bruno Bertucci. As I was cleaning up my stamping area, I found a few DSP scraps that I was going to toss, but thought, I can make another scrap card!

This time I remembered to take a few photos to show you the process.

I cut a 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" card base, one 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" and one 5 3/8" x 4 1/8" piece of card stock and a 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" piece of whisper white for the inside.

Step 1:

I had 6 x 6 scraps and cut them at a slant - no measuring, just cut away!

Step 2:

Using liquid glue, add the scraps to the 5.5" x 4.25" piece of cardstock

Step 3:

This is what it looks like from the back. At this point, trim this panel. For this card, I trimmed the panel to 5 1/8" x 3 7/8". The in color card I trimmed the feature panel to 5 1/4" x 4".

Step 3:

I mounted the feature panel to the 5 3/8" x 4 1/8" piece of card stock, added some dimensionals and adhered it to the card base.

Final touch:

On a 1" strip of card stock, I used the triple banner punch to flag the end. I embossed the sentiment from Celebrate Sunflowers and added a few retired embellishments.

Embossing tip:

How did I emboss in Night of Navy? You can emboss in any color! Apply Versamark ink to your stamp, then apply the ink color of your choice, use an embossing buddy on your card stock, stamp onto your card stock, add embossing powder and heat. 

Try this technique. A great way to use scraps and lots of fun too!

Meet the 2020-2021 In Colors

I finally had a play with the new in colors.

Cinnamon Cider, Just Jade, Bumblebee, Magenta Madness, Misty Moonlight

I thought this technique was a great way to show off these great new colors!

Hope your day is a good one!

Double Concertina Fun Fold

I was having a COVID-19 afternoon - read, feeling stuck at home so went to my craft room. I had the time and wish to create a special project. 

I LOVE folds. I am always amazed at what designers create out of paper, adhesive, stamps and ink. I came across this Double Concertina fold on mixedupcraft.com. It did take a good part of my afternoon to create this, but the outcome was well worth my time.

I chose the Poppies collection for my project and pulled out my stitched rectangle framelits. The cover sentiment is from the retired Watercolor Wings. The base is Rich Razzleberry, layered with Blackberry Bliss that was run through the Subtles embossing folder and the DSP is part of the Poppies collection. The panel on the right is popped up with dimensionals.

Now for the WOW!

Now you can see why this took the better part of an afternoon. The center white piece used 12 x 12 cardstock, but the directions included an 11" version.

Here is a view from the top.

My finished card size is 5" x 6" and is on the thick side. How to present this card?

An envelope using coordinating DSP and the envelope punch board along with measurements provided by the Crafty Owl's Envelope Expert tool! The envelope was a perfect fit!

I'm looking forward to the near future when we can gather together to enjoy some stamping time. If you're in the West Bend, WI area and would like to join one of my groups, leave a comment or contact me.

Wishing you a wonderful day!

The New Catalog is LIVE!

Let the shopping begin!

You are now able to order from the new SU! catalog. I've provided a link to the catty in the event you don't yet have one. I'm happy to send a copy to you if you don't have one yet. Send me a quick note and I'll send it off to you.

Read on for some great June specials and FREE products!

DOWNLOAD PDF

PLEASE NOTE: The Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machines (and accessories) are not yet available to order. Stay tuned for additional information!

Along with the catalog launch, there are two fantastic opportunities to earn additional FREE product! Keep reading to learn more!

 ANNUAL CATALOG KICKOFF CELEBRATION

From June 3-30, earn an additional $25 in Stampin’ Rewards on orders of $250 or more! Grab your friends to go in on a large order or shop big for yourself and enjoy the extra rewards!

 PICK A FREE BUNDLE STARTER KIT PROMOTION

From June 3-30, when you purchase a Starter Kit, you can select ONE stamp and punch bundle (p. 168–169) or ONE stamp and die bundle (p. 173-179) from the 2020–2021 Annual Catalog in addition to $125 of product for only $99! That’s up to $185.25 in product if you pick the Blossoms in Bloom Bundle! Below is a handy flyer for reference:

CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL OF THE BUNDLES

The Stampin' Up! 2020-2021 Catalog is Ready for Your Viewing Pleasure!

The big day is here! The new catalog is here and filled with amazing new products, beautiful samples and unlimited creativity.

If you don't have a catalog, contact me and I'll send one your way.

Happy shopping!

Click here to browse!

Rainbow Birthday for Mila

My bestie's grandaughter, Mila is turning 5 in June. The theme this year is rainbows. It took me awhile to come up with a design special enough for a 5th birthday party.

I used layered oval framelits to create the rainblow. I mimicked the rainbow colors with coordinating inks and an aqua painter.

It's been a long time since I've made a shaker card. I certainly hope Miss Mila enjoys the rainbow!

Mila is quite the card maker herself! She sent my son a college graduation card complete with an amazing drawing of Bucky Badger! He LOVED it!

Creativity is ageless and truly adorable when it comes from littles!

Until next time, happy stamping.

Graduation Day!

Despite COVID-19, we celebrated my son Michael's college graduation from the University of Wisconsin Madison on Saturday. I rented a party room at a downtown hotel for the 10 of us. We viewed the streamed ceremony and listened to thoughts shared by the Chancellor and James Patterson, the guest speaker; both were great! The ceremony highlight was the special guest commencement speaker, Uncle Dream - not a dry eye in the house after that!

We broke quarantine and went with tradition, Michael in cap and gown as we took photos at campus landmarks. There were other students and families doing the same. It was refreshingly normal and people were cognizant of distancing.

Alumni Bucky and Old Abe were a couple of the stops we made.

The photo highlights were taken inside the football stadium. Michael worked with the team this year as a videographer and got permission to go into the stadium. We were the only people in the stadium; it was quite a special experience! My boy has attended Badger football games starting in 2nd grade with his dad who is a season ticket holder. His dream was to graduate as a Badger and he did it!!! I'm one proud momma!

I really couldn't have asked for a better day!! 

Hope you are doing well!