A Touch From the Heart

Getting Scrappy!!

  I have a workshop on Saturday, and I spent part of the day yesterday cutting for the make-n-takes. All that cutting leaves me with scraps sitting on my desk.  I used those scraps to create today's project.

I used Bountiful Blooms (one of this year's Sale-a-bration stamp sets) for the focal image on this card.  I stamped the image in Chocolate Chip ink on Whisper White cardstock.  I colored it in using my Chalk Pastels and a cotton swab.  I sponged the edges with Close to Cocoa ink and added some dot work with a Chocolate Chip marker.  The focal image is matted on a 1/8" larger piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock.

Now, here's where the scraps come into play.  The patterned paper is from the Delicate Dots patterned paper pack (another Sale-a-bration selection).  I sponged the edges with Close to Cocoa ink.  The strip on the left has a photo corner (punched from Chocolate Chip cardstock using the Photo Corner punch) in both the top and bottom left corners.

Everything is adhered to a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Always Artichoke.  Before adhering to a 1/8" larger piece of Chocolate Chip, I added two 1/2" Chocolate Chip circles that have a silver eyelet set in the center.   I tied some Linen Thread into a knot using the two eyelets.

The So Saffron base card is a standard A2 card (5 1/2" x 8 1/2"....folded in half).

I chose not to add a sentiment to this card.  I will add it to the inside when I decide what occasion I want to use it for.

Once again....it's a really easy card to make!!! 

So here's another challenge for you.........take a look at the scraps on your desk and make something with them.  Remember, I want to see your creations so send me a link, okay?

The fabulous products I used today can be ordered from Stampin' Up!  You can either email me your order or place an Online Order through my demonstrator website.  Just click on "Shop Now" under my name in the upper right corner.  It's that easy!!!

Don't forget about Sale-a-bration!!!  For every $50 in catalog merchandise, you get to choose one Sale-a-bration item for FREE!!  Check out the Sale-a-bration brochure for more details!!

Remember, all Online Orders also receive a Spring & Summer 2009 Idea Book and Catalog for FREE (while supplies last).

Until tomorrow....Happy Stamping everyone!!!

 

Challenge Myself

  Every once in a while I like to give myself a challenge.  In the past, I've made a project with a stamp set that hasn't seen the light of day in a LONG time or use a tool that has been feeling ignored. 

This challenge was a color challenge.  It's time to make a card with two colors that you really don't like working with.  Okee dokee!  There are several colors that I really don't like working with.  Two of those colors are Orchid Opulence and Yoyo Yellow.  Yikes!!!

Now, I need to find a stamp set that will work with those two colors.  I had a bunch of stamp sets on my desk (yup...need to clean it again).  One of those stamp sets was Thoughts & Prayers.  This floral spray is so fantasmagorical....it will work with any colors.....even Yoyo Yellow and Orchid Opulence!!!  LOL!!!

I used my markers to color on the image.  The stem and leaves are Green Galore.  I inked the flowers with YoYo yellow (with Orchid Opulence centers) and Orchid Opulence.  Just huff (breathe) on the stamp to remoisten the ink and stamp onto some Whisper White.

The sentiment (from Sincere Salutations) is stamped in Basic StazOn (any black would work...this was just sittin' on my desk). 

The focal image is matted on a 1/8" larger piece of Basic Black.

The Orchid Opulence layer has been texturized with the swirly texture plate from the Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plate pack and my Big Shot.  I added some of the new elegant White Organza ribbon.  Oh baby!!!  This is matted on a 1/8" larger piece of Basic Black cardstock.  The base card is Whisper White.

This card was so simple!!.  Literally, it took 5 minutes to make!!!!

So now I challenge you.  Pick two colors that you really don't like and make a project with them.  I want to see your creations so please send me a link, okay?

The fabulous products I used today can be ordered from Stampin' Up!  You can either email me your order or place an Online Order through my demonstrator website.  Just click on "Shop Now" under my name in the upper right corner.  It's that easy!!!

Don't forget about Sale-a-bration!!!  For every $50 in catalog merchandise, you get to choose one Sale-a-bration item for FREE!!  Check out the Sale-a-bration brochure for more details!!

Remember, all Online Orders also receive a Spring & Summer 2009 Idea Book and Catalog for FREE (while supplies last).

Until tomorrow....Happy Stamping everyone!!!

Join My Meetup Group

Do you live near the Twin Cities, MN?

If yes, I encourage you to join my Chaska Rubberstampers Meetup Group. 

Meetup is an online gathering place where people with similar interests can find each other.  When you sign onto my group, you can see all the events I have scheduled and RSVP to them as well.

I've heard in the past that my customers read my newsletter but forget when my classes are.  By checking on the my Meetup group you can see exactly when my classes are scheduled so you won't miss your favorite class again!!!

If you are interested in joining my Chaska Rubberstampers Meetup group, click HERE.  I'd love to stamp with you!!!!

A Non-Stamped Beauty

  I told you I had a ton of laundry this weekend!!!  This card was made while the last load was in the washer.  There is not one bit of stamping on this card!!!

The Certainly Celery base card measures 4 1/4" x 4 1/4".  I did sponge the edges with Close to Cocoa ink.

I trimmed an inch off the right side of the card so that I could attach a Whisper White border made with my Eyelet Border punch.  I placed a skinny strip of Chocolate Chip cardstock to cover the seam.

The focal element was a breeze to make.  I took a piece of patterned paper from the Bella Rose dsp pack and sponged the edges with Close to Cocoa ink.  The leaves are from a brand new Sizzlit called Little Leaves.  I am telling you my Big Shot makes my life SO much easier!!! 

The felt flowers are from Flower Fusion Too.  I used a celery rhinestone brad (from Ice Rhinestone brads) to keep them all together.  Prior to matting on some Whisper White, I wrapped a length of Chocolate Chip narrow grosgrain ribbon and tied it into a classic knot.

Easy peasy!!!  Gotta love cards like that!!!!

The fabulous products I used today can be ordered from Stampin' Up!  You can either email me your order or place an Online Order through my demonstrator website.  Just click on "Shop Now" under my name in the upper right corner.  It's that easy!!!

Don't forget about Sale-a-bration!!!  For every $50 in catalog merchandise, you get to choose one Sale-a-bration item for FREE!!  Check out the Sale-a-bration brochure for more details!!

Remember, all Online Orders also receive a Spring & Summer 2009 Idea Book and Catalog for FREE (while supplies last).

Until tomorrow....Happy Stamping everyone!!!

Thinking of You

  Can you tell that we've hung around the house a lot this weekend?  I got all my laundry done which meant a lot of time in the Stamping Studio.  I really like relaxing weekends like that!!!  Poor Amanda got slammed with homework this weekend which meant not much fun time at all....mix that in with 5 hours of dance rehearsal today to get ready for competition and her weekend pretty much was over. 

This card kinda came to me while looking at what scraps I had sitting on my stamping desk.  The base card is Chocolate Chip.  The patterned paper is from the Bella Rose designer series paper pack.  I did sponge the edges (gasp....like I never do that...LOL!!!) with Close to Cocoa ink.

The next layer is Ruby Red that has also been sponged with Close to Cocoa. 

The focal image was so fun to make.  I used my markers....Close to Cocoa for the trunk and More Mustard for the leaves.  I then used my Pumpkin Pie and Ruby Red markers to "thump" on my leaves.  This really makes it look like an autumn tree.....lots of different colors.....so pretty!!!  Make sure to huff (breathe) on the stamp to remoisten the ink prior to stamping on the Whisper White.  I sponged the edges with Close to Cocoa ink and added some dot work with a Chocolate Chip marker.

The sentiment was stamped on a scrap of More Mustard cardstock using Chocolate Chip ink.  I rounded to the top and bottom left corners and sponged.  The finishing touch was a punched flower using the Trio Flower Punch with a silver brad in the center.

This card took about 7 minutes to make.  Like I said, I used scraps that were sitting on my desk.  Now that's what I call recycling!!!!

Card Recipe

stamps:  Thoughts & Prayers

paper:  Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, More Mustard, Whisper White, Bella Rose dsp

ink:  Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa

accessories:  Corner Rounder punch, Trio Flower punch, silver brads, SU markers, sponges

The fabulous products I used today can be ordered from Stampin' Up!  You can either email me your order or place an Online Order through my demonstrator website.  Just click on "Shop Now" under my name in the upper right corner.  It's that easy!!!

Don't forget about Sale-a-bration!!!  For every $50 in catalog merchandise, you get to choose one Sale-a-bration item for FREE!!  Check out the Sale-a-bration brochure for more details!!

Remember, all Online Orders also receive a Spring & Summer 2009 Idea Book and Catalog for FREE (while supplies last).

Until tomorrow.....Happy Stamping everyone!!

Praying for You

  I really don't like making sympathy cards or cards for the seriously ill.  I would much rather make cards for happy occasions, but life is not like that.  Where there is life there is death.  Where there is health there is also sickness.

I made this card for a family member who is very ill.  I am hoping that this card brightens her day.

I really love this image from Thoughts & Prayers.  I think it is so calming.  I colored the image with my Mellow Moss and Pretty in Pink markers.  I huffed on the stamp (to remoisten the ink) and stamped on some Whisper White cardstock.  I stamped the sentiment with Basic Brown ink.  The edges of the cardstock are sponged with Close to Cocoa ink.

The pink patterned paper is from the Bella Rose designer series paper collection.  The edges are also very lightly sponged with Close to Cocoa ink.  Prior to matting on some Mellow Moss cardstock, I punched two 1/4" circles from Chocolate Chip cardstock and added two silver brads.

The base card is Chocolate Chip.  At the bottom of the card I added some Mellow Moss Taffeta ribbon with Chocolate Chip narrow grosgrain laid on top.

These cards aren't fun to make, but I really hope I can give her some happiness when she receives it.

Until tomorrow....Happy Stamping everyone!!!

Card Recipe

stamps:  Thoughts & Prayers

paper:  Chocolate Chip, Mellow Moss, Whisper White, Bella Rose dsp

ink:  Basic Brown, Close to Cocoa

accessories:  1/4" circle punch (retired), Mellow Moss Taffeta ribbon, Chocolate Chip narrow grosgrain, Silver brads, Stampin' Write markers (Mellow Moss, Pretty in Pink), sponges

The fabulous products I used today can be ordered from Stampin' Up!  You can either email me your order or place an Online Order through my demonstrator website.  Just click on "Shop Now" under my name in the upper right corner.  It's that easy!!!

Don't forget about Sale-a-bration!!!  For every $50 in catalog merchandise, you get to choose one Sale-a-bration item for FREE!!  Check out the Sale-a-bration brochure for more details!!

Remember, all Online Orders also receive a Spring & Summer 2009 Idea Book and Catalog for FREE (while supplies last).

Better Late Than Never

  I know I am a day late with my Blogger's Challenge entry, but the last few days have been a whirlwind.  I had my Stamp Club on Thursday night and Chris had a friend sleepover last night (i.e. they were in the basement and that's where my studio is located).  So my first opportunity to make a project was this morning!!!

This week's challenge was an inspiration challenge.  Here is the photo we were to draw inspiration from:

When designing my card, I pulled the inspiration from both the color and the damask pattern on the comforter.  I also added a few colors to pull my project together.

The base card is Kraft that has its edges sponged with Close to Cocoa ink.

The next layer is Riding Hood Red that has been stamped with the damask image from Friends 24-7 using Versamark ink.  I then overstamped the entire thing with my Sanded background stamp using Riding Hood Red ink.  The edges were then sponged with Close to Cocoa ink.

The focal image (also from Friends 24-7) was stamped on More Mustard cardstock using Basic Brown ink.  I colored in the image with my Versamarker.  I punched each of the corners with the Ticket Corner punch and sponged with...you guessed it...Close to Cocoa ink.

The medallion is from my brand new Sizzlits called Lots of Tags.  I ran it through my big shot two times....once using Very Vanilla and Once using Close to Cocoa.  I stamped the sentiment in the middle of the vanilla piece, cut out the oval using the perforations as a guide and sponged.  I adhered the oval on top of the cocoa medallion (also sponged).  I used the horizontal slot punch on the medallion to feed my Chocolate Chip narrow grosgrain through. 

The finishing touches include a felt flower from Flower Fusion Too using a Ruby Red brad in the center and a little bow in the upper left corner.

Whew!!  I am so glad I was able to play this week albeit being late!!!!

Please check out my fellow Blogger's Challenge sisters.  Click on the Blogger's Challenge icon on the right sidebar of my blog to get a list of links.

Until tomorrow.....Happy Stamping everyone!!!

Order your Stampin' Up! goodies with Patti

Don't Worry.....Get Stamping!!!!

  Do you remember the Conversation Heart purse I designed for Valentine's Day?  Well, I adapted that design to make this purse.  This purse holds 3"x3" note cards.  This was the project my Stamp Club members made at their meeting this past Thursday.  I am happy to report that they were thrilled with both the purse and the note cards (I will show them tomorrow).

The purse is constructed from a 6" x 11" piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock. 

The patterned paper on the front panel is from the Delicate Dots DSP pack which happens to be one of this year's Sale-a-bration selections. 

Now, my favorite part about this project is this bloom.   I made it with my Big Shot and the Daisies #2 Bigz die.  I took two 6"x6" pieces of Bashful Blue cardstock and ran them through the Big Shot.  This will give you 2 large, 2 medium and 2 small flowers.

Layer the flowers on top of each starting with a large flower on the bottom.  When adding the next layer, make sure the petals are offset from the previous layer.

For this bloom I used 2 large, 2 medium and 1 small. 

Use SNAIL to help hold the flower together as you assemble each layer.

Add a small Chocolate Chip Corduroy brad to the center of the flower.

Pull the petals towards you of every other layer......this makes the bloom fuller.

I used my Cropodile to set two large Pewter eyelets to hold the Bashful Blue Taffeta ribbon handle.

It looks like another busy weekend here at the Chesky household!!  What's going on in your neck of the woods?  Well, whatever is on your agenda, I hope you enjoy your weekend!!!

Remember, all of the items I used for today's project are available through Stampin' Up!  If you would like to place an order, you can email me or place an order online.  Simply go to my demonstrator website and click on "Shop Now" under my name in the upper right corner.

It's Sale-a-bration time.  For every $50 of your order, you get to choose ONE Sale-a-bration item for FREE.  This year there are four stamp sets, a designer series paper pack (which I used on today's project) and a ribbon bundle to choose from.

All Online Orders will have a FREE Spring & Summer 2009 Idea Book and Catalog sent with their order (while supplies last).

Until tomorrow....Happy Stamping everyone!!!

I {heart} Texturz Plates!!!

When my friend Jenn called me from Stampin' Up!s Leadership Conference in Orlando (this past January), she had me jumping up and down!!!  She had the catalog in her hand telling me that SU was now going to carry the Sizzix Texturz Plates.  YES!!!!  That was my biggest hope for the catalog....an easy was to "emboss" our paper with the use of the Big Shot!!!

Today I am going to show you one of the Texturz Plate offerings from the catalog.  This set is called Backgrounds 1, and it is exclusive to Stampin' Up!  There are three plates in each set....each plate has a different design on each side.  Cool!

The Texturz Plates are really easy to use.  Here is the "sandwich" I use on my Big Shot (from the bottom up):  Multi Purpose platform (comes with the BIg Shot), a piece of cardstock to be used as a shim, the Texturz Plate (with the image you want to emboss with facing up), cardstock you want to texturize, Silicone Rubber (sold in the catty), Impressions Pad (sold in the catty).

I love the effect they provide on a project.  They are subtle enough to not overpower the rest of the card, but WOW!!!

Did you know that you can emboss patterned paper and then lightly sand the raised images to expose the white core?  A very striking effect!!!!

I've almost shown you all of the plates in this one set.  I like how this one set spans all different kinds of styles:  classic, elegant, masculine, whimsical.  All for the bargain price of $11.95. 

There ya go!!  I've shown you all the plates in the Backgrounds 1 set.  I love all of them!!!  What do you think?

Remember, if the Big Shot is on your wishlist, purchasing it during Sale-a-bration is the best way to do it!!  If you purchase the Big Shot and the Texturz Plates Backgrounds 1, you'll get to pick TWO Sale-a-bration sets for FREE!!!  Awesome deal!!!!

Contact me today to place your order for the Big Shot!!  You'll be so happy you did!!!

Order Online with Patti

Thanks Mom!!

  Mom bought this stamp set (called Bloomin' Beautiful) last summer and has made some stunning creations with it (including my 29th....ahem....birthday card).  I asked to borrow it for a little while so I can play!!!!

Let me tell you, this blossom is fun and EASY to watercolor.  All I did was stamp the image on watercolor paper using Black StazOn ink.  I then edged the flower with my Cameo Coral marker.  I used my Aquapainter to blend the colors towards the center of the image.  Add more marker to the edges and where the dark lines are.  Don't be afraid to add color 2 or three times to get the correct amount of highlights and shadows.  The stem is colored the same way but with a Certainly Celery marker.  I added Mellow Moss for the darker shadows.  I scribbled some Going Gray marker on a stamp case and really watered it down.  I used that to create my shadow around the flower.

The focal image is matted on a slightly larger piece of Basic Black cardstock.

The patterned paper is from the Delicate Dots designer series paper pack.  This is one of the Sale-a-bration choices this year when you spend at least $50 on Stampin' Up! catalog merchandise.  The patterned paper is also matted on a slightly larger piece of Basic Black cardstock.

I added two 1/4" circles punched from a scrap of Cameo Coral cardstock.  In the middle of each circle is a silver brad.

This all sits atop a layer of Cameo Coral cardstock which is on a Confetti White base card.

 

All of the items I used for today's project is available through Stampin' Up!  Ordering is easy!!!  You can either send me an email with your order or you can order through Online Ordering.  Online Ordering is easy.  Just go to my demonstrator website and click on "Shop Now" under my name in the upper right corner.  The online system has an incredible search tool to help you find exactly what you need!!

Remember, it's also Sale-a-bration time.  For every $50 you spend in catalog merchandise, you can choose a FREE item of your choice from the Sale-a-bration brochure.  This year there are four different stamp sets, the patterned paper I used for this project and a ribbon bundle. 

All Online Orders will also be sent a Spring & Summer 2009 Idea Book and Catalog for FREE (while supplies last).

Until tomorrow.....Happy Stamping everyone!!