Northwest Stamper

Category: Cards

  • Quick and Simple Vintage Card

    I realized in writing this post that the word “vintage’ has a few different meanings.  I’ve seen it used to describe victorian and lace, while other times it is more rough and aged.  Or in this case, when I look at this card and think it looks more western or um..I don’t know… vintage?

    Well whatever your definition, this is a fun and easy card that we made at my monthly meet and greet event.  Its quick too which is always a plus when you want to make a card but have a million things on your schedule.

    For the stamping on the So Saffron cardstock, we used Versamark ink to give a subtle watermark image of the swirls from the stamp set Priceless.  I love using Versamark this way when I want to add pattern or just kick up some cardstock without having something too in your face.  We punched the strip of Chocolate Chip with the new  dotted scallop ribbon punch.  Add some Chocolate Chip sponging around the Very Vanilla piece and pop the matted, stamped image up on Stampin’ Dimensionals and you have a simple card with a lot of interest.

    Tip: If you are going to round the corners of your card, you can put the corners of your closed card into the punch and punch away.  However, if you have more than two layers like in this card (where you have the Real Red for the back of your card, plus Real Red layered with So Saffron for the front of your card), you will need to punch the front corners separately from the back corners.  Ok, it is possible to punch it all at once, but it leaves dimples on your card back and is hard on your punch.

    So, does this count as vintage?  I’d love to hear what you think of when you think of creating something with a vintage look!

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  • A Letterpress Card for the Stamping 411 Challenge #168

    If you’ve seen the holiday mini, you’ve seen one of the new products Stampin’ Up! just released – the Letterpress Plates.  These plates are made to use with your BigShot and instead of embossing your image by causing the pattern to raise up off your paper, these plates deboss your image – making empressed images that go into your page.  Add some craft ink, and you get imprinted colored images to spiff up your project.

    At convention this year, Stampin’ Up! unveiled the plates and then offered a special convention bundle of all the letterpress plates at a discount for convention attendees.  Yet another awesome benefit of being a demo (see even more benefits here).  So, I decided to try them out and after getting my bundle, spent some time this weekend playing with them.  So, today, here is the first card I made with the Northern Trim plate for the Stamping 411 sketch challenge.

    I’ve also been playing with different types of papers and inks, so check back later this week as I’ll be posting my results and offering tips for what I’ve found from using the plates.  Until then, here is the video Stampin’ Up! released to show you more possibilities with these plates.

    Oh, P.S. – if you are a demo or become a demo when attending their regional seminar, they have another special bundle just for attendees!  Contact me at jennifer@nwstamper.com for more info or find out how to be my guest when I go to the Portland Regionals in October.

     

    Demonstrating the Letterpress Dies

    Kind Thanks Recipe:
    Stamps:     Thank You Kindly
    Ink:  Always Artichoke Classic ink, Always Artichoke Craft Ink, Rose Red Craft Ink
    Paper:  Elegant Soiree DSP, Basic Black CS, Rose Red CS, Confetti White CS, Always Artichoke CS
    Accessories:  Basic Black Satin ribbon, Scallop edge punch, Basic Rhinestones, Styled Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware, Modern Label punch, glue dots, Stampin’ Dimensionals

  • Jack-o-Lantern Gift Card Holder

    As I was thinking about projects for the Halloween Punch Art Blog Hop, I came up with this idea in my head for an interactive Jack-o-Lantern.  I had ideas for making it hold a gift card and some other stuff, but when I sat down to make it, it just wasn’t coming together.  Finally today I got some more time with it and this is what I came up with:

    He may look small in the picture, but he is actually made using the Scallop Oval Bigz Die for the BigShot.  I think he is about 5”x4.5” or something like that.  But you see the scallop cut at the top of the pumpkin?  That’s because…. Surprise!  He’s a gift card holder.

    I wanted this to be a stand alone card/project but at first I had a hard time making it work.  I even have a card base all ready to adhere him to; but after I had the sticky strip in place, I was inspired to try one more time to make him all pumpkin.  So, 3 more ovals later….

    This entire card was made using punches and BigShot dies.  Once I had the design down, it was really easy to make and fun too.  The gift card rectangle part actually slides into and out of the pumpkin, so when you have the gift card in place, it just looks like a pumpkin front and back.  So, something a little different, but a lot of fun.

    Funny side note – I don’t actually have the scallop oval Bigz die, so I made this guy by tracing the oval from a swap I had received and then using that to trace and hand cut out 6 ovals!  What we do for the love of our craft. 🙂

    Punches used –
    Bigz die (Scallop oval), Large Star punch (eyes & nose), 1/2” circle punch (eyes),  Large Oval punch & Wide Oval punch (mouth), Modern Label (stem), Corner Rounder (gift card holder), Slit punch (gift card holder), 3’/4” circle (spider), Curly Label punch (spider legs)

    Want the tutorial?
    I have had numerous requests for the instructions and so I’ve created a full tutorial with step-by-step instructions and photos for each step.  The 14 page, full-color pdf will be emailed to you for only $1.95.


    In the San Francisco Bay Area? I’d love to stamp with you!  Check out my calendar of events at http://nwstamper.stampinup.net/events or drop me a line to schedule a time for your own personal crafting time!

  • Halloween Punch Art blog hop

    Man, can you believe the stores are already putting out their Halloween decorations and candy?  I guess that means the holiday season is creeping up on us.  But that also means fun holiday projects like a ton of fabulous Halloween Punch art.  I’m participating in a blog hop with 13 other extremely creative folks.  I had a ton of ideas and they are mostly half done on my craft table.  So, while I work on figuring out what to do with my little creatures on the table, here is a quick card I created after being inspired by a skull image I saw online.

    I have to say that Mr Bones here  looks even cuter in real life. 🙂 I made his head by punching out a 1 3/4″ circle and then using the word window punch to cut out the sides of his face for cheeks.  I used a few different circle punches to get his eyes and the small heart from the Heart to Heart punch to make his nose.  His jaw is made using the wide oval punch.  You punch out an oval from white cardstock and then punch the center of the oval out using the wide oval punch again.  His bow tie is the modern label punch that I trimmed in the top and bottom to make the bow tie shape and then added some additional circles for the knot.  Kinda snazzy, huh?  I love what a few basic punches can do!

    Check out these other amazing projects that folks have posted for you today.

    Paper Punch Addiction
    Blinkin’ Thinkin’ & Inkin’
    It’s A Stamp Thing
    Kelli’s Korner
    Northwest Stamper
    Ink Paper Stamps
    Gwen’s Paper Expressions
    Stamping My Life Away
    Gettin’ Crafty
    Krafty Kate’s Kupboard
    Brenda’s Stamping Corner
    Beth-a-Palooza
    Bonnie’s Creative Place
    Craft Chaos
    Stamping with Heather


    Mr Bones Recipe:
     Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
     Ink: Rich Razzleberry
     Paper: Basic Black CS, Whisper White CS, Rich Razzleberry CS, Old Olive CS, Wicked Fun DSP
     Accessories: 1 3/4″ circle punch (head), wide oval punch (jaw), 1/2″ circle punch (black eye, razzleberry bow tie), itty bitty shapes punches circle (white eye,black bow tie), crop-a-dile 3/16″ punch (sm black eye), Heart to Heart punch (nose), Modern label punch (bow tie), word window punch (sentiment, cheeks cut out), Stampin’ Dimentionals

  • One More Summer Card–Just for You

    Ever have a project that you see in your head…you start cutting/stamping/punching and then suddenly go “that doesn’t work”?  That is what happened to me on Monday.  I wanted to get in one last farewell to the Summer mini card and was thinking how I got the Bouquet Bunch stamp set because I loved the squirrel and then ended up using just about every stamp in the set but the squirrel.

    So I had a vision in my head, and proceeded to stamp and punch 6 squirrels and matching dsp.  Then I laid it out and….bleah!  Then my 8 mo old wanted my attention, and you know how life goes.  So, today, I got my new holiday mini order in the mail and OH MY!  I was so excited to start playing (I CAN”T WAIT to use my new big buttons!) but when I sat down, my half done card was staring at me and I just had to finish it.  So, after some fiddling, this is what I came up with.

    I used the retiring Travel Journal DSP and on the left edge stamped the tree leaves from the Bouquet Bunch set (stamped off once before stamping on the card) to make the background.  As I was tweaking, I decided it would be fun to have the squirrel on the right be actually peeking through a hole from the inside of the card.  So that is what you can see here:

      I added the green for a touch of color and then the soft suede ribbon.  It still needed something so a scrap of linen thread finished it off. 

    I loved this sentiment from the new hostess set Afterthoughts.  It seemed appropriate somehow with all the squirrels running around.

    Finally, if you know me, you know I’m a terrible hoarder of scraps.  The thinnest strip of paper or a scrap that “I could totally get at least one punch out of” seems to make it in my scrap folder.  So, when I was done and I had one squirrel left, plus the dsp and cardstock from punching the hole in the front of the card… well, I couldn’t throw them away!  But I need to use up my scraps so they became a perfect little button to hide the seam where I glued down the ribbon on the inside of the card.  I think it works.  Don’t you agree?

    Ok, with that done, I can now dig into my new goodies guilt free.  So, watch for some new stuff showing up on my blog this weekend!  Till then…. happy stamping!

  • A few Fur-ever Friends

    Well, I didn’t get my farewell to the Summer mini card done before the catalog retired, so while I finish that card and start breaking out my new Holiday mini goodies, I thought I would share a couple cards I made with the Fur-ever Friends stamp set.  I liked being able to make totally different cards using the same stamp set.  I also have one more, completely different card using this set up on my Facebook page.

     

    Also, there is still time to enter my Blog Candy!  I’d love to hear from you!

    In My Thoughts Recipe:
    Stamps:     Fur-ever Friends, Word Play
    Ink:  Early Espresso
    Paper:  Cajun Craze CS, So Saffron CS, Whisper White CS
    Accessories:  Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Bone Folder, Cajun Craze marker, So Saffron Marker, Early Espresso Marker, scallop edge punch

    Pawsing By Recipe:
    Stamps:      Fur-ever Friends
    Ink: Chocolate Chip, Basic Grey
    Paper:  Melon Mambo CS, Peach Parfait DSP (hostess), Whisper White CS
    Accessories:  Watercolor pen, Melon Mambo marker, Regal Rose marker, Pink Pirouette marker, Rose Red marker, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Large oval punch

  • Introducing Northwest Stamper and some Blog Candy!

    I’ve been working for a while on setting up my own website and all the related things like email addresses, facebook, etc.  Finally last night I got the last few pieces changes and flipped the switch. 

    So welcome to my new home – Northwest Stamper at www.nwstamper.com

    THANK YOU for stopping by today.  Here is a card I made using some scraps and a some images I stamped before having a card layout in mind.  This is a great stamp set and I know it will be missed when it retires in 3 days.

     

    And as another thank you, I am offering some BLOG CANDY!  Woo hoo! 
    This card reminded me of the stamp set Botanical Blooms, which I had an extra set and thought it would be a fun way to say thanks.  Then in looking in my stash, I found the Sweet Pea Felt that I sadly never used but thought would be great to share.  So, here are the details:

    There are two drawings, so you have two chances to win –

    1.  Leave me a comment telling me what types of posts or topics you would be interested in seeing on this blog; or what you like seeing on other blogs. Botanical Blooms Stamp Set - Blog Candy drawing 1
    2.  Become a fan of NW Stamper on Facebook then leave me a comment here to let me know.  If you suggest my page to a friend and they become a fan, you’ll get an extra entry for each friend – just let me know who you invited so I can give you credit.Sweet Pea Felt - Blog Candy drawing 2

    Entries for the Blog Candy close on 9/5/2010 at 9pm PST.

    Watercolor Trio Recipe:
    Stamps:  Watercolor Trio
    Ink:  Perfect Plum
    Paper:  Perfect Plum CS, Whisper White CS, Basic Grey CS, Old Olive CS
    Accessories:  Adhesive Pearls, Scallop Square punch, Glue dots, Old Olive marker, More Mustard marker, Perfect Plum marker

  • An Owl Punch Flower Pendant Card

    When I was visiting my mom last week, we got a chance to try out some different stamps and punches.  (One of the fun things of having an upline/downline – you can share stamps and products so you can try them out without having to buy everything yourself).  One of the items she had just received was the new Owl Punch.  This punch makes really cute cards – like this one that was shown at convention 2010.

    But one of the other things you can do with it is make other neat punch art like bats and even a flower.  So, we decided to try out making a flower with the punch and once I had the flower, I then built a simple card to use it with.  We use the description found on the blog Flowerbug’s Inkspot to create the flower.  Her blog has a great description and photos but here is the quick version: 
    Start by punching out 7 owls.  Take the main body of the owl from the punch and trim off the legs.  Then you fold the body in half so you have a centerline.  Fold the rounded bottom part of the owl in towards the center line so it looks kind of like a pie wedge.  Trim a curved lines starting from the point of the ears into the center line to make the white petals you see below.  Then glue the 7 pieces to a base piece of paper in a circle to make the flower.  I then added a vintage tag to the center and pierced two holes in the base cardstock to run the string through.  This allows the flower to swing like a pendant.

    If you’ve found other fun ways to use this punch, I’d love to see them.  Leave a comment with a link to your blog or site with the sample and I’ll check it out!

    Recipe:
    Stamps:  Watercolor Trio
    Ink:  Elegant Eggplant
    Paper:  In Color DSP – Peach Parfait (Hostess), Crumb Cake CS, Very Vanilla CS
    Accessories:  Owl Punch, Lg Scallop Circle Punch, Baja Breeze double stitched ribbon, vintage tag, Adhesive Pearls, Paper Piercer.

  • Technique night – Masking and Reverse Masking

    Last night was my August technique night with my meetup group and we focused on masking and reverse masking.  For those of you not familiar with masking, this is the technique for using paper to cover (or mask) the area you don’t want to get inked.  So, in this first card we did, you stamp the colored cupcake on your paper and then stamp another copy of the cupcake on scratch paper.  Cut out the scrap cupcake and place over your original stamped image and then stamp your next cupcake, overlapping the scrap paper and your original image.  This gives the illusion of one cupcake being in front of the other without seeing the overlapping ink.   We also used the scrap cupcake to mask the frosting area when we stamped the candle so that you could choose the height of the candle and not have it overlap the top of the cupcake.

    Next we did reverse masking.  This is where you cut out your scrap image and set your image aside and use the cut-out frame to let you add ink to the inside of the framed area.  In this case we sponged first and then while still keeping the frame in place, stamped our leaves images. This card was inspired by a card I found on the Stampin Up demo resource – Stampin Cconnection.  The origional was created by Allison Ohran. 

    Finally we did one more card that combined both techniques.  We used reverse masking to make the sun and then placed the cut-out circle back on the sun and a scrap cutout of the treetop to mask the areas before sponging our sky.

    Now, some tips:

    Tip: When cutting out smaller shapes and circles, post-it notes work great for giving you something that can stick in place and then come up without leaving a mark.  For bigger shapes and frames, use a little bit of Dotto.  This adhesive lets you put your mask down and then pull it up an rub off any adhesive that gets left behind.

    Tip: While I normally recommend stamping on Whisper White cardstock because it holds ink much better than standard white cardstock and computer paper, for the scrap image you are going to use for your mask, I would recommend in that case to use computer paper.  Because the paper is thinner, you tend to be able to get ink closer to the edge of your mask and so get a cleaner look.

    Card Recipes:

    Cupcake Card Recipe
    Stamps:     Party Hearty
    Ink:  Early Espresso, Crumb Cake
    Paper:  In Color pattern pack – Hostess set, Daffodil Delight CS, Whisper White CS, Pacific Point CS
    Accessories:  Peach Parfait marker, Daffodil Delight marker, Pacific Point marker, Early Espresso marker, Dotto

    Thank You Card Recipe:
    Stamps:      Just Believe
    Ink:  Wild Wasabi, Basic Black
    Paper: Wild Wasabi CS, Basic Black CS, Whisper White CS
    Accessories:  Dotto, Basic Black 1/4” grosgrain ribbon, snail adhesive, Stampin Dimensionals

    Thinking of You Card Recipe:
    Stamps:      Bouquet Bunch, Teeny Tiny Wishes
    Ink:  So Saffron, Old Olive, Bashful Blue, Soft Suede
    Paper:  Bashful Blue CS, Soft Suede CS, Old Olive CS, Whisper White CS, So Saffron CS
    Accessories:  Adhesive back pearls, Dotto, 1 1/4” circle punch

  • More baby gifts – thank you card set and a frame

    It seems like I know a lot of people having babies right now.  I reconnected with a friend recently on Facebook and learned she was due at the end of August with her first child.  I was so excited for her, I decided to make her a few things to send in addition to a gift card – what i call the light weight version of baby wipes. 🙂

    First I created this photo layout for her using a 5×7 frame.  I started with the baby feet wheel and built the layout from there.  I found the DSP in my scrap pile and started layering pieces together.  After I had it assembled, I wanted to give the stamped image a little kick, so I inked up the wheel in Rose Red and wheeled out some more feet so I could cut them out and glue on top of part of the Chocolate Chip image.  Finally, I added one of the Sherbet designer buttons from last catalog.

    Then I created a set of simple thank you notes so she has something fun Io send folks who give her little girl baby gifts.  I love the Fox and Friends stamp set for baby stuff and so had to use a variety of critters from the set for these cards.

    I also stamped the envelopes to match the cards.  It was a good reminder about how the quality of paper you stamp on affects your image.  I was out of Stampin’ Up! envelopes so I used some of the value pack envelopes that I got from Michaels a while back.  Definitely doesn’t grab the ink nearly as well as Whisper White paper, but it works ok.

    Baby Thank You Cards recipe:
    Stamps:      Fox and Friends, Thank You Kindly
    Ink: Chocolate Chip
    Paper:  Whisper White CS, Melon Mambo CS
    Accessories:  Stampin’ Write Markers, Delicate Dots embossing folder, 1 3/8” circle punch, Scallop Circle punch

  • Baby brag book and photo frame

    My friend Sue was so excited to share the news of her new baby granddaughter born a couple weeks ago.  This is her second grandbaby and it was her daughter who gave birth and everytime I talked with her you could hear the excitement and pride in her voice.  So, I had to make her a couple gifts to have some personalized spaces to show off her family.

    First was a brag book to carry in her purse.  I bought one of those slim photo books from Target and pulled out the boring papers that served as the front and back covers.  I then created new custom inserts using mostly paper and embellishments that would be slim (so the inserts would actually fit in the plastic sleeves for the front/back covers.  i used the Rough Type Alphabet (so sad it is retiring at the end of the month!) to create the front label and layered that on some punched cardstock and then Pink Pirouette that had been texturized using the Square Lattice folder in the big shot.  The back cover I added some pearls to the Butterfly to add a bit of bling wthout making the page too thick.  Finally, I used sticky strip to add some ribbon to the spine to add a simple finishing touch that wouldn’t get ripped off if she tossed this into her purse.

    I have to say, the trick for picking up the adhesive back pearls using your paper piercer works super well!  It makes it really easy if you use the pointy tip of your piercer to get under the glue on the page and then the pearl sticks to the point until you place it down on your image.

    The second thing I made her was a magnetized photo frame.  This used a photo mat that had been pulled out of a Costco photo frame.  i then added DSP and embellishments to the frame to personalize it.  I then cut some thin chipboard and used sticky strip on three sides of the chipboard to adhere it to the back of the frame.  Finally, I cut some magnet pieces (I am so excited about the new magnet sheets for the BigShot, i may have to make some more projects in the future with this!) and glued the magnets to the back of the frame and it is ready for a photo and to be placed on the fridge.

    Brag Book Recipe:
    Stamps:  Rough Type Alphabet, Occasional Quotes
    Ink;  Rose Red, Chocolate Chip
    Paper;  Basic Black CS, Rose Red CS, Pink Pirouette CS, Whisper White CS, Lavender Lace CS
    Accessories:  Scallop Edge Trim punch, small heart punch, rose red marker, chocolate chip marker, two way glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Crystal Effects, Grey Satin ribbon, 1 3/4” circle punch, Extra large scallop circle punch, lattice die, rose red 1/4” ribbon

  • Training the trainer – an introduction to stamping

    Last week, I had the fun of introducing a friend to awesome world of stamping and paper crafting.  Nikki is my personal trainer from the gym (gotta kick out those last few pounds of baby weight!) and she has been very curious to check out Stampin’ Up!.  Since she wouldn’t be able to get a workshop scheduled until September and she was going back to Hawaii to celebrate her Grandpa’s 100th birthday in a few weeks, I invited her over to create a card and gift for her Grandfather.  We had a blast playing with everything and helping her create something that she loved and was going to be special for her Grandfather.

    So, we created a card and then an 8×10 photo page.  She attached a photo of her Grandpa and Grandma and we left the space under the photo blank so she could hand write a message to him.   Aren’t they the cutest couple?? 🙂

     

    I loved helping her try everything out and create something special and she can’t wait to take it to show off to her family. 😉 

    Birthday Photo Layout Recipe:
    Stamps:  Whimsical Words (Sale-a-bration 2010 set)
    Inks:  Night of Navy
    Paper:  Whisper White CS, Night of Navy CS, Bashful Blue CS, Pink Flamingo DSP
    Accessories:  So Saffron 5/8″ ribbon, Corner Rounder punch
    Paper: