Swappin' Convention Style

Hey there, stampers! I am home and trying to recover from my trip to Salt Lake City for Stampin' Up Convention. It was a wonderful, crazy, and completely overwhelming experience. This was the 25th Anniversary for Stampin' Up and Convention was a HUGE celebration and party. There were about 5,800 demonstrators from all over the world in attendance. I'm so glad that I was blessed enough to go. I had an awesome roommate, Mindy, and we had a blast together. I also met so many wonderful new stamping friends and got to visit with old friends as well. It was truly an amazing experience!

Below are the four designs I used for my convention swap cards. I did two organized swaps and then made fifty more for general swapping. The first is for an organized swap organized by Lyssa Zwolanek. I participated in this swap at convention two years ago and got the best swaps then and this year did not disappoint either. They were all beautifully made. Here is mine...

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps: Simply Sketched (hostess), En Francais
Paper: Crumb Cake
Ink: Versamark, Crumb Cake, Strawberry Slush pad and marker, Melon Mambo marker, Pistachio Pudding marker
Accessories: Big Shot, Labels Collection framelits, white embossing powder, Very Vintage buttons, linen thread, Strawberry Slush ruffle stretch ribbon, stamping sponge

I love this stamp set, but to be honest, I am not great at coloring. I searched for a good technique for coloring in this gorgeous flower and decided to try the technique used by my friend, Jennifer Timko, on this card that she made for a convention swap last year. I was very happy with the way it turned out. I have to admit that this is not a typical card for me. I just sat down one day and started playing and this card happened. It is much more vintage than the cards I usually make, but I like it.

I made the next card for a swap with the Fab Friday design team. What a fantastic group of stampers they are! I loved getting to meet everyone. This was the sample card we made at my birthday card class earlier this month. My swap was the same except that I used the "You're too kind" sentiment from the Too Kind stamp set instead of this birthday one. I had a hard time getting a good picture of this one, my apologies.

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps: Too Kind
Paper: Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, 2013-2015 In Color DSP stack
Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Baked Brown Sugar
Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Pennants die, 2 1/2" circle punch, Fancy Fan embossing folder, Pistachio Pudding ruffle stretch ribbon

The  next two cards were my general swaps. I try to make general swap cards that are easy to duplicate, but that are nicely designed and stamped well. I hope that these accomplished that goal.

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps: Remembering Your Birthday, Positively Chevron, Birthday Candles wheel
Paper: Raspberry Ripple, Basic Gray, Bermuda Bay, Very Vanilla, Birthday Basics DSP
Ink: Raspberry Ripple, Bermuda Bay, Gumball Green marker, Basic Gray marker, Summer Startfruit marker
Accessories: Big Shot, 3" circle die, dimensionals

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps: Zoo Babies, Petite Pairs
Paper: Wisteria Wonder, Strawberry Slush, Whisper White
Ink: Smoky Slate, Strawberry Slush
Accessories: Big Shot, Alphabet Press EF, Smoky Slate Chevron ribbon, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, Itty Bitty punch pack, rhinestones, pearls

OK, that's all I have for today. My post convention goal is to blog more often and have a stronger online presence. Wish me luck! :) Pin It

FabFri22: Chalk Talk

Hi stampers! Long time no see! I'm so sorry for not posting much lately. Life has been CRAZY! Between having two kids home all day everyday, wanting to make the most of summer, and getting ready for Stampin' Up convention next week, I just haven't had much time to stamp. I have been doing a little bit of stamping for my birthday card class tonight and a few swaps for convention (which I will post after convention). Be sure to check back soon to see all of those cards!

Well, it's Friday and time for another Fab Friday challenge- yay! We have a color challenge for you this week. Check it out!

I decided to do a birthday card for my design team card so that it could also be one of the cards for tonight's birthday card class. I think this is a great color combination for masculine cards. Here is my card...

 

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Stamps: Chalk Talk
Paper: Basic Gray, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Gray, Tempting Turquoise
Accessories: Big Shot, Chalk Talk framelits, Houndstooth EF, Epic Day washi tape, small silver brads

I really like the Chalk Talk stamp set and matching framelits. I used three different framelits from the set on this card. The Real Red layer is the first. The Tempting Turquoise layer was made by using two of the top halves of the long, thin label. The stamped image was cut out using a third framelit. Another fun, new product I used it the diagonal striped washi tape in the background. If you have never tried using washi tape, give it a try. It is so easy to use and there are so many ways to use it. I especially love that it can be torn and that it is repositionable!

Thanks for stopping by today! Be sure to play along with us this week at Fab Friday! I can't wait to see what you make.

Marla  Pin It

FM114: Brick Wall

In my quest to do more stamping for fun this summer, I have been keeping my eye on all of the challenge blogs out there. I saw that The Friday Mashup had a really technique challenge that I hadn't tried before called "Brick Wall", so I decided to give it a try.

And here is my card (a little early since it is very fall-ish, but oh well)...

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Stamps: Gently Falling, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry, Very Vanilla
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry
Accessories: Big Shot, Woodgrain EF, Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, Tombow Multi Liquid Glue, paper snips, sponge
Techniques: Brick Wall, 2-Step Stamping, Stamping Off, Sponging

Isn't that a cool technique? I really had fun making this card for my dad's birthday in November (provided that I can keep track of it that long). ;-)

A couple of thoughts and tips for this technique...

• Check out the photo tutorial on Splitcoaststampers and watch the video.
• Allow yourself some time to play. This is not the technique for those times when you have ten minutes to make a card.
• I found that drawing the bricks on the backside of the cardstock and then cutting worked better than using the trimmer.
• When cutting apart your stamped cardstock, do one strip at a time and immediately sponge it and glue it down. Otherwise, this will become a very tricky jigsaw puzzle.
• I found that using liquid glue worked well because it allowed me some time to make adjustments and make sure everything was straight.

OK, I think that's all of the advice that I can offer. This is a fun one! Give it a try!
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FMS90: Simply Sketched

I just love the new hostess set called Simply Sketched. I think that all of the hostess sets are great, but this one is definitely my favorite. I got a chance to stamp for a few minutes this afternoon while the kids played outside. It was gorgeous here today- 75 and sunny! They were disappointed that it was too cool to swim, but I was happy that it wasn't terribly hot or rainy. :)

I used this sketch from Freshly Made Sketches for my card.

And here is my card...

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Stamps: Simply Sketched
Paper: Baked Brown Sugar, Strawberry Slush, Pistachio Pudding, Whisper White, 2013-2015 In Color DSP Stack
Ink: Strawberry Slush marker, Pistachio Pudding marker, Crisp Cantaloupe, Baked Brown Sugar
Accessories: Scalloped Oval punch, Oval punch, pearls, sponge dauber

I wasn't totally sure how to color in this stamp. I did the marker to stamp technique, but it looked too plain without a little added color on the flower and bud. I decided to try sponging a little color on using a sponge dauber and I really like how it turned out. It was quick and easy and I like the contrast of the Strawberry Slush outline with the Crisp Cantaloupe sponging.

Thanks for stopping by! Pin It

FabFri20: New In Colors

Woo hoo! It's Friday! Time for another fun challenge at Fab Friday. We have an awesome color combination for you this time. The challenge is to use all five of the new 2013-2015 In Colors. When I have my new catalog party each year, I try to use all five of the new in colors on a project. Sometimes it is a real challenge because they don't always work well together. This year, however, they are BEAUTIFUL together. I really love this group of colors! Aren't they gorgeous?

 
And here is my card...

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Stamps: Mosaic Madness, Chalk Talk
Paper: Pistachio Pudding, Backed Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, Strawberry Slush, Crisp Cantaloupe, Whisper White
Ink: Pistachio Pudding, Backed Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, Strawberry Slush, Crisp Cantaloupe
Accessories: Big Shot, Modern Mosaic EF, Mosaic punch, Itty Bitty punch pack, Large Oval punch, linen thread, rhinestones

I hope you like my card and I also hope that you will play along with our challenge and link up your project so we can see what you do with these awesome colors! Pin It

New Goodies!

Hey there! A post that isn't for my Fab Friday design team- can you believe it? I made this card for the Freshly Made Sketches challenge #89, but of course, I missed the deadline to link it up. Oh well! At least I stamped! I really want to take a little more time to stamp for fun this summer. We'll see how it goes.

I used some brand new goodies for this card. My first order included new colors and two new birthday sets- Sketched Birthday and Remembering Your Birthday. I used both for this card. I love making birthday cards and I LOVED this fun sketch, so I combined them. I thought the banners were perfect for a birthday card. What do you think?

 

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:

Stamps: Sketched Birthday, Remembering Your Birthday

Paper: Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, Whisper White, 2013-2015 In Color DSP Stack

Ink: Black Staz On, Coastal Cabana marker, Strawberry Slush marker, Crisp Cantaloupe marker, So Saffron marker

Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots EF, Square punch (for making the banners), White Baker's Twine

Technique: Paper Piecing

 

Did you notice how I "colored" the cake plate? I used the paper piecing technique and used one of the designs from the In Color DSP stack to color the plate. I originally tried to use my Pistachio Pudding marker, but I'm not the best at coloring and just couldn't get it to look good. This is a great option if you are better at "fussy cutting" than you are at coloring (like me). Here is a close-up of the piece of cake and the plate so you can get a better look.

 

 





My kids and I went on a mini vacation to my parents' cabin in the mountains of West Virginia over the weekend. It is a great place to get away. There is no cell phone service, no internet, and no cable or satellite. We stay busy by going for walks (or runs), fishing, building campfires, and seeing the beauty of our home state. Here is a picture of the kids and me at Blackwater Falls in Davis, WV. I have crazy hair and no makeup and the kids have goofy faces, but this was the best we got. :) Summer fun!

Thanks for stopping by! Make sure to come back on Friday for the new Fab Friday challenge! Pin It

Fab Friday 19

It's Friday and time for a new Fab Friday challenge. Yay! We have a fun sketch at Fab Friday this time. Check it out!

And here is my take on it...

Stampin' Up Supplies Used:
Stamps: Embellished Events, Friendly Phrases
Paper: Summer Startfruit, Midnight Muse, Raspberry Ripple, Whisper White, 2012-2013 In Color DSP stack
Ink: Summer Startfruit, Midnight Muse, Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green
Accessories: Big Shot, 3" Circle die, Square punch (to make the banner), pearls

This is a pretty simple card, but I am happy with the way it turned out. My lack of stamping lately has really made it a struggle to just sit down and make something I like, so this is actually the second card I made for this challenge. The first one will never get posted because it was just that bad. We all have reject cards once in a while. It's just part of the process, I guess.

I am going to make it a priority to do more stamping and blogging now that school is almost out. Maybe the kids need to have "craft time", "quiet time", or "outside time" in order for Mommy to get a little time to stamp, but I will do whatever it takes. If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy, right? Does anyone else find that stamping time always gets pushed to the back burner when life gets busy? I wish it wasn't that way, or that there were more hours in a day, or that there were two of me. Ha! Maybe someday... ;-)

Anyway, have a fantastic weekend and please come and play along with us at Fab Friday!

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