Washi Label Punch Project

Hi all,

By now you likely have checked out the list of retiring products. Stampin' Up! has told us they will continue to produce stamps that are on the retiring list until May 22nd. All other items on the list are available only while supplies last, so check out the list HERE and make your purchase now!

One item that I learned has already sold out is the Washi Label punch, which is a bummer because I cased a great card from fellow Pal Susan Itell. I decided to share it anyway because you could use the word window punch or simply cut strips of paper.

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The beauty of this card is the ability to use those snips and strips of DSP that are leftover from other projects. I've been on major campaign this year to USE my DSP - what a concept, don't you agree? I know I'm not alone in my love for the beautiful papers that SU! creates, but oohing and ahhing over them as they sit in my craft room is just not fair to those 12 x 12 guys.They want to be decked out and shown off! That being said, I was down to the last snippets of this vintage DSP when Susan posted a sample of her card in our Pals Facebook Gallery and I fell in love with it. I even CASEd her signature 'dots'.

The most time consuming part of this project was laying out the DSP into the pattern I wanted. 

TIPS:  

I cut a piece of cardstock onto which I adhered my punched DSP and sentiment.

I then added a 'cheater bow', popped the piece up with dimensionals and added it to my card base. To create a cheater bow, cut a length of ribbon 1" to 1 1/2" wider than your cardstock. Add adhesive to the ribbon ends, place it onto your project and attach to the back of the card stock. Next, grab your spool of ribbon and tie a knot around the ribbon you just placed, trim the ribbon ends and you're set! The folks in my classes LOVE cheater ribbons!

The card base is a piece of Whisper White cut to 4 1/4" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4". The next layer is colored card stock cut to 4" x 4" and that is topped with a piece of 3 3/4" x 3 3/4" Whisper White card stock that is stamped in a complimentary color. I'm thinking I'll give the 6 cards that I made to my mom as she enjoys sending notes to friends.

REMINDERS:

• 2014-2016 In Colors will be retiring. If there are products from this suite that you love, order here now before they're gone!

• Interested in learning some embossing techniques? Save the date of either Saturday, May 21st or Monday, May 23rd. In class I'll be teaching several different embossing techniques that you can easily replicate at home.

• Like what you see here? Have a question? Please leave a comment. I love hearing from you.

Thanks so much for stopping. Happy stamping!!

Sue

A Spring Challenge!

Hi all,

You'd never know I've been stamping like a crazed cricket based on what I've been posting! I've had several special orders to complete and have also held 4 stamp nights in the past 10 days. I figured it's time I start sharing!

It's been awhile since I participated in the Pals Paper Arts challenge. Challenges are a great way to stretch your creativity, to be provided with colors and layouts and make them your own. This week the Pals Jackie Diediker came up with a beautiful color challenge that forces you to think spring, no matter the weather in your area!

My first thought when thinking of spring is butterflies and with Stampin' Up's Butterflies Thinlits creating a WOW is a (spring) breeze!

One of my all time favorite stamps sets is Work of Art. The first year this set came out, we received it at a catalog premier. I'm happy to say it will be in the 2016-2017 catalog - woo hoo!

To create this little beauty, I cut a piece of Whisper White to 4" x 4". For a bit of an accent, I used my Simply Scored tool to add some textured lines. Using my trusty Stamp-a-ma-Jig, I inked up my 'swoosh' stamp with Wisteria Wonder positioned it and stamped, cleaned the stamp, inked it with Daffodil Delight and postioned it under my first image. I followed suit with Pool Party.

Next I centered my butterfly thinlit onto my stamped image and ran it through my Big Shot. 

TIP: When using intricate dies like this a must have is the precision plate. The resulting clean cuts are incredible. Even with the precision plate, I do recommend running your die through the Big Shot twice.

Before placing the butterfly into the card opening, I used my gold Wink of Stella pen to spatter some gold flecks onto my card stock.

Using dimensionals strategically placed on the back of the 4 x 4 piece, I layered it onto a piece of Whisper White that measures 4 1/4" x 8 1/2" and scored at 4 1/4".

I couldn't catch this on my camera, but I did cover the butterfly with clear Wink of Stella to give it some sparkle.

I used Tombow glue to adhere the body of the butterfly into place, allowing it's wings to fly. I debated adding rhinestones or pearls to the body of the butterfly, but decided to let the color and shimmer stand on its own.

This was a quick and easy card to create and is oh so pretty! 

Comment below to let me know what you think of it!

I encourage you to play along with the PPA Challenge, click here for details. 

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Some Important Notes:

*  Click here to shop the retiring items - get them before they are gone!

*  Be sure to sign up for my newsletter in the column to the right. This edition highlights 3 of       my favorite tools that cost less than $10!

*  If you're in the area, save the date - May 21st or May 23rd. I will be holding a technique      class. If you've wanted to learn about embossing - this is the class for you! More details        will be coming soon!

Thanks so much for stopping. Have a wonderful week!

Sue

RETIRING!!

Hi all,

The demonstrators who attended OnStage live in Salt Lake City last week received a copy of the new catalog - I am so looking forward to seeing what is new. That being said, in order to have new, we need to move out some of the old. The link below will take you to my store where you can check out what stamp sets and accessories will be retired as of June 1st.

If there is anything on the retired list that you would like - PURCHASE IT NOW! The items are available only while supplies last.

If you have ANY questions, please contact me. I'm happy to help you with whatever I can.

Click here to see what is retiring!

Happy shopping!

Sue

Baby Block Card

Hi all!

My sweet baby great-nephew is now over a week old and doing well! The newborn photo shoot has been completed and the Beckers are learning the rhythm of a family of 5.

Due to not knowing the gender of our newcomer, I hadn't worked on a card prior to Ezra's birth, but now have one ready for the post - I still need to pick up a gift card to include!

Have you ever made a block card? They really are quite easy to cut and assemble. The time consuming part is figuring out the embellishments!

For the base I used a piece of vintage 12x12 pre-embossed paper. I brought out my trusty brayer and Soft Sky ink pad to add color. Using a vintage alphabet set, I stamped the letters in Soft Sky onto Whisper White card stock, punched them out with my 1 1/4" square and mounted them on pieces of 1 3/8" square Marina Mist.

The punch art teddy used the following punches:

Body: 1 3/4"  and 1 1/4" circle

Head: large oval, retired small oval

Nose: 3/4" circle repunched with the retired small oval

Arms: retired small oval

Ears: 3/4" and 1/2" circle

Feet: 1" circle, heart from Itty Bitty punch pack

Heart: owl punch

Eyes: heart from the Itty Bitty punch pack - I cut it in half and shaped it a bit

I used Soft Suede and Crumb Cake card stock.

I think he looks like a happy little bear, don't you?

So we have a cute front, but what about the other side of this card?

For this side, I brought out my Something for Baby stamp set and coordinating framelits. My color combo included Soft Sky, Marina Mist, Whisper White, So Saffron and a few scraps of retired Certainly Celery. The numbers were created using the File Tab framelits. To top it off, I found some thick white baker's twine in my stash and used it to create a pom-pom.

I cut a piece of Whisper White to attach to the bottom of the card, stamped and signed it and attached it to the card. There's an opening on the side of the card where I can tuck in the gift card.

So, do you think my nephew and his wife will like this card? Leave a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks for stopping.

Baby, baby, baby

Hi all,

The big news for me this week was the birth of my new great-nephew. Ezra Allen Becker entered this world on March 30th. My nephew and his wife chose not to know the gender of the baby, so it was pretty dog gone exciting to get the news. Ezra joins big brother Jaxon and big sister Christina. The sad part is that they live in Louisiana and I'm in Wisconsin! I feel a road trip coming on! Here's a photo of big brother with his baby - love the cheeks on both of them!

Baby Love!!!!

Saturday I woke up to lots of blowing and snowing.

You have to love spring in Wisconsin. By the end of the day, the sun was shining and most of the snow was melted. The best part was the ground being warm enough to melt what was on the walkways and drive way!

So, what did I do while Mother Nature was out mixing it up! Worked in my craft room! I'm headed to Hudson, WI next weekend for the baby shower of my bestie's DIL. They know they are having a boy, so I am prepared!

I finished the afghan last week. Saturday I worked on the shower treats. This is a pattern from Brenda Quintana; she has lots of patterns for Hershey treats. I used Soft Sky and Marina Mist paper. I pulled out my vintage Top Note die to create the topper for the packaging.

The card is a block card and very easy to put together. The challenge was finding 12 x 12 card stock in my stash. I have lots of DSP, but not a wide variety of  CS in that size. Due to the color of the afghan in the background, it's difficult to tell that the base color of the card is Soft Sky. When the new daddy was a baby, his room was decorated with bears, so I had to incorporate that theme into the card.

This week I'll be working on samples for my upcoming classes. You can see my class schedule here. Give me a call or send an email if you're interested in joining the fun.

What are your favorite baby color combos? Leave a comment below; I love hearing from you!

Hope your week is a good one - happy stamping!

Sue

Check it out - an April Paper Pumpkin surprise!

If you're not already a Paper Pumpkin subscriber, here's another reason you may want to join. Sara Douglas, Interim CEO, has some good news to share.

Through March 31st, you can purchase a 3 month Paper Pumpkin subscription at a discounted rate AND receive a FREE Sale-A-Bration item. Click here to shop!

As always, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.

Woo Hoo! Party Pop Up Thinlits Class!

Join me on Saturday, March 12th for a class featuring the Party Pop Ups Thinlits Dies.

We'll be making a birthday card and a fancy fold birthday gift card holder using the dies. I'll also have samples to inspire your next projects.

Our third project for the day will be a fun and easy Easter card using the Work of Art stamp set that was featured in a previous class. 

I hope that your curiousity and creativity are piqued!

Cost of the class is $10 or free with a $30 purchase.

Call me to reserve your spot now!

Are you thinking, 'what in the world are Party Pop Up dies?'. Then check out this Stampin' Up! video for a sneak peak.

Hope to see you in class!

Sue

Would you like to receive a surprise in the mail each month?

FEBRUARY PAPER PUMPKIN: HELLO SUNSHINE

Spring is right around the corner and we can’t wait! But, for now the Hello Sunshine February Paper Pumpkin kit is teasing us with cheery colors and flowers in full bloom.

The kit includes supplies for nine cards (in three designs) and nine printed envelopes. It’s bursting with bright colors, gold foil accents, charming flowers and leaves, iridescent sequins, cute banners, and classy style!


Stampin' Up! loves to share other ideas for your Paper Pumpkin kit every month. Let’s get right to it with a card that that you can make with supplies included in your February box. Try turning the card base and using those accents in a different way. Hello sunshine and hello beautiful card!



The stamp set includes wonderful sentiments for a variety of occasions and five different flowers. Here’s a fun idea: stick to one ink color for each flower and stamp away! The flowers come together beautifully to create a bold background.




Finally, one of our favorite things to do is mix and match other Stampin’ Up! products with Paper Pumpkin. Use the Dots & Stripes Decorative Masks, aWhisper White Craft Stampin’ Pad, and a Sponge Dauber to lightly stamp a background on a Kraft Tag a Bag Gift Bag. Then, insert a card and/or treat for a perfect little birthday gift.



Order a 3 month Paper Pumpkin subscription now! Through March 31st, you can save on the subscription AND choose a Sale-A-Bration item FREE! Everything you need to create the Paper Pumpkin projects, exceot a paper snips, is included in your monthly treat box. 

To order your subscription, click here or reach out to me, I'm here to help!

Be the Star You Are!

Hi all!

Have you ever played paper challenges? There are so many of them out there. Challenges are a great way to stretch your paper crafting comfort zone. As a member of Mary Fish's Paper Pals, I most often play the Pal's Paper Arts (PPA) challenge. There is a new  challenge posted on Thursdays in the month. There is an exception if there is a 5th Thursday to the month. Ana-hoo, the most recent challenge was a color challenge.

I pulled out the file folders containing each of these colors and didn't have to think too long to find inspiration. Inside my folder of Pink Pirouette, there was a scrap that was embossed with stars. I immediately knew the stamp set that would work with that scrap and also knew I wanted to use the yummy Watermelon Wonder 1" ribbon from the Occasions catalog. This card came together so quickly I surprised myself!

I will be sending this to a friend I've come to know through work. Alyx is a tech assistant for my human resources software and has been a life saver for me. She was recently promoted into a new role and while I'm sad for me, I'm happy for her. I hope she likes the card! Do you? If so, please leave a comment. I love hearing from you.

Challenge yourself this week! Google 'challenge sketches' and have some fun!

Happy stamping!

Sue

Bloomin' Hearts Finale

I hope you've enjoyed this week's featured product, the Bloomin' Hearts thinlits die. My final project to share is another Valentine. We made this card in class today. 

If you're on the fence about purchasing this bundle, know that after creating three of the beautiful cards I featured this week including today's project, the folks in my class took the plunge! When you order this bundle, and you can do so in my 24/7 online store, be sure to add the Big Shot Die Brush. It will save you so much time - no more picking little bits of paper from your die!

Card Features:

• This fun embellishment was made with a  piece of Blushing Bride ribbon from the Bloomin' Love suite. I laid a string of pearls from the same embellishment kit and a string of the Blushing Bride sequins crossways on the ribbon and tied a knot - easy peasy! It adds texture and fun!
• A 1/4" sliver of Blushing Bride glimmer paper provided a transition between the cardstock and DSP.
• Sequins are also included in the embellishment kit, but so you know, the heart shaped one came from a vintage container of SU! sequins - I couldn't resist using it!
• The sentinment is fussy cut and popped up on dimensionals.

Are you inspired to create your Valentine?

REMEMBER!

• The 3 month Paper Pumpkin subscription is on sale through the end of March. Buy the subscription and choose one FREE SAB product! (click on the photo in the column to the right to view the SAB catalog)
• Some of the SAB products will be available for a limited time only. NEW SAB items will then be available! Stay tuned for details.
• Bundle! For those of us in cold weather states, that word means one thing, but in the SU! world it means save! There are so many great bundles in the Occasions catalog. Don't miss out and purchase yours today!

Thanks for stopping - make it a great day!

Sue

Bloomin' Hearts Wedding card

Hi all,

It's Bloomin' Hearts week here at RnR Stamping. This die is so amazing and so much fun to work with! Some of the projects you're seeing this week we'll be making in class on Saturday. 

As I've been creating, I've been cutting additional cardstock and getting set for my stampin' mates! The first card I created was a sympathy card. I quicky found out how much time it took to clean out the heart die between cuts. Thankfully, my SU! order arrived last night. I actually had given up on dear Mr. Brown and turned off the driveway and front door lights. The doorbell rang about 45 minutes later. I was thankful that I had shovelled my front walk again when I got home from work. I felt bad he was in the dark!

Any-hoo, to make a short story long, my SU! box contained my Big Shot die brush. Let me tell you, if you have ANY intricate dies, this is a MUST HAVE! It makes incredibly quick work of cleaning paper bits from your die. I never realized how badly I needed this product;)

So, on to my project for today, a wedding card. I love the look of white on white. For a wedding card, I wanted a bit of shimmer so I chose our Shimmery White cardstock. If you've never seen this paper, it is simply beautiful; put it under a light and wow, what a shimmer!

• To provide a bit of an accent, I pulled in some basic gray. 
• Save cardstock! Crop the gray heart from the piece you're using for the layer - no one will ever know!
• A vintage embossing folder was used, but the Lovely Lace folder would be perfect with this card.
• The front panel is popped up on dimensionals to allow room for the ribbon and to add dimension.
• I chose not to place the flowers in their 'matching' spot on the die in order to draw attention to the sentiment.

• The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes and the banner from Bloomin' Love. It is fussy cut and popped up with dimensionals.
• Love Blossoms embellishment kit is the source of the string of pearls that are attached with a glue dot.
• Whisper White Organza ribbon tied it all together.

So, what do you think? Please leave a comment below, I love hearing from you!

Take gentle care,

Sue

Bloomin' Hearts Sympathy

Hi!

Thanks for popping in today. The Love Blossoms suite is all the rage for the Valentine season, but it can go beyond February 14th. The DSP stack includes many floral designs that will take you well in to spring.  

Today's project featuring this suite is a sympathy card.

I wanted to keep the colors more muted so went to my Neutrals and pulled out a piece of Sahara Sand and one of Whisper White.

• Using a pattern from the Neutrals DSP stack and the Bloomin' Love thinlit, I cropped the heart. 
• It's hard to see in the photo, but I lightly sponged the piece of Whisper White with Sahara Sand ink to soften the background. It looked too starck to me without it.
• The flowers from the Bloomin' Love stamp set were inked with Sahara Sand and cropped with the thinlits that are included with the Bloomin' Heart thinlit.
• I popped up the flowers with dimensionals and added a pearl on each 
• Organza ribbon added just the right touch
• The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny wishes

This die is so beautiful, it can stand on its own; there's no need for a lot of embellishing. I think it is perfect for a sympathy card, don't you?

Be sure to stop back tomorrow for another project using Bloomin' Love!

Make it a great day!

Sue

Welcome to the Pals Blog Hop for January 2016. We are thankful you stopped by to take a look at our new 2016 Blog Hop monthly themes.  This month we are showcasing projects using Stampin’ Up! products featuring a theme from any of the following: Valentine’s Day; Thinking of You; Get Well; or Sympathy. All of these themes come “From the Heart.”  We hope you enjoy our creations.

You may just be starting the Blog Hop or may have come from the previous link from the Line-up on the Pals Blog Hop listing shown below.  The full lineup will help you move along from blog to blog so you may see all the projects.

This whole week I am featuring the Bloomin' Love thinlits die on my blog. Be sure to check out yesterday's post and come back later this week for more ideas using this beauty.

In December I had the opportunity to gather with a great group of stampers. One of the best things about getting together with other stampers is 'the swap'! But knowing what a talented group they are, I wanted to make sure I created something that was on par with everyone else!

We were instructed create a Valentine project using product from the Occasions catalog and to wrap our project. We then played a take away game. It was fun to see everyone's creations. There weren't many take aways as everyone was happy with the project she received! Here is the self closing bag that I made.

When you squeeze the sides, the bag opens. I followed a great tutorial by France Martin. This project features:

• Bloomin' Hearts Thinlits die
• Love Blossoms DSP stack
• Blushing Bride Glimmer paper
• Love Blossoms Embellishment kit

This suite of products will make creating your Valentines a snap, but can also be used for birthdays, sympathy and wedding cards. There is lots of versatility and creativity waiting for you!

As you hop through the blogs, know that we love to read your comments. Do you like this project? Tell my why!

Thanks for visiting. To continue with the hop, please refer to the Blog Hop Line-up below. We hope to see you on next month’s Pals Blog Hop!

1. Debbie Mageed at Secret Stamper
2. Maggie Mata at Maggie Made Cards
3. Jennifer Michalski at Stampin' Serenity
4. Shawn de Oliveira at ShawnStamps
5. Wendy Klein at Doggone Delightful Stampin'
6. Patti MacLeith at Papercrafts by Patti
7. Dawn Tidd at Tiddbits from Dawn
8. Michelle Gleeson at www.StampinMojo.com
9. Shannon Jaramillo at Shannon Kay Paperie
10. Mary Fish at Stampin' Pretty
11. Sue Becker at RnR Stamping - YOU ARE HERE!
12. Debra Simonis at Deb's Stampin' Grounds
13. Jackie Diediker at Stampin' Jackie
14. Angela Curry at Kindred Stampers
15. Julie DiMatteo at The Paper Pixie
16. Tricia Chuba at ButterDish Designs
17. Karen Hallam at Karen's Stampin' Habit!
18. Beth McCullough at Stamping Mom
19. Katy McGloin at Just Fun Stamping
20. Becky Volpp at InkBlossomwithBecky
21. Kelly DeTommaso at Kelly's Creative Corner
22. Lisa Ann Bernard at Queen B Creations
23. Nancy Gleason at My Stampin Space
24. Pamela Sadler at Stampin Pink Rose
25. Kalyn Shubnell at The Stamping Chronicles
26. Peggy Noe at Prettypapercards