Northwest Stamper

Category: Cards

  • It’s a …..

    boycard_wm

    Well, I’m happy to share that we found out earlier this week that we will be having a little boy come Christmas time.  So, of course to commemorate the occasion I had to put together a quick card to share the news. 🙂 

     

    I wanted to play with some scraps left over from cutting a scallop circle with the BigShot and start coming up with some ideas using the Nursery Necessities stamp set.  I have a feeling I’ll be getting a lot more use out of this stamp set over the next year.   If you have put together some cute baby cards or scrapbook pages, I’d love to see your ideas.  Leave me a comment with a link to your blog or photo of your design, and I’ll check them out.

    Well, I’ll leave you with baby’s first picture and I’m off to finish my Stampin Up convention 2009 scrapbook!

    baby boy

  • I’m back! Plus some news.

    Hello!  After a bit of a summer break I’m back and excited to be getting back into blogging.  I’ve just spent the last four days in Salt Lake City for the Stampin’ Up! convention and it’s been a blast!  I’m so excited to be coming home with cute samples, swaps, ideas, and info on some awesome new products and promotions!  I actually fly home on tomorrow morning so I plan to start getting my pictures uploaded and sharing what I saw and learned.

    Until then, I thought I would share with you some of my fun personal news.  I’ve been having a hard time staying up at night for stamping because I’ve been so sleepy so early.  But I’m happy to share that those early nights are for a good cause as I’m working on growing a healthy, beautiful baby that will be joining my family around January 2nd.  🙂 

     This will be our first and so I’m nervous and excited at the same time.  However, that means more excuses for cute little baby cards and of course a scrapbook!  If you have tips or advice, I’d love to hear what you have to share.

    So, I promise to get some photos posted soon, but until then, happy stamping!

  • More from Stampin’ Up regionals

    I have so many awesome things I saw or made at last weekends regionals that its going to take me a few posts to share the best with you.  I can’t imagine how many pictures and ideas I’m going to come back from convention with.  It should be a blast though!

     

    imgp5357I just had to share a picture of Mom and me, waiting to get let in to the conference room.  The energy was high and when they opened the door, hundreds of women started cheering as they raced (yes, literally running!) to grab their seats.  Shelli Gardner, the owner and co-founder of Stampin’ Up!, was there to talk to us about the direction of the company and share some of her tips and ideas.  She seems really nice and a lot of fun to listen to.  So after one of the sessions, we got a chance to say hello and snap a picture with her.  I have to say, I was very impressed that when I asked her a question about the product line and gave my thoughts, she was very open with me and seemed to care what I thought. 

     

    Finally, here are a couple of the make and takes we made during the day.  This uses one of the new sets in the Occasion Mini – Soft Summer-  and at the end of the day, I won the stamp set we used at our table for the make and take.  Woo Hoo!  I can’t say no to a free stamp set.  🙂

    soft_summer_regionals2soft_summer_regionals

  • 30 card swaps in 3 hrs

    This weekend has been awesome!  The weather has been perfect – in the high 70’s and sunny all weekend – and I got to go to the Stampin’ Up! regional seminar on Saturday up in Seattle.  Oh my gosh was it tons of fun, super inspiring, and a chance to reconnect with the folks in my Stampin’ Up family.  I’ll posting more this week sharing the swaps and idea boards with you but for today I had to tell you about the feat of craziness I embarked on on Friday night. 🙂

     

    Since I live in Portland, the drive to Seattle is about 2.5 – 3 hrs which means I would have had to get up at 4 in the morning on Saturday to head up to Seattle in time for regionals.  Well, anyone that knows me knows I’m not a morning person, so I decided to head up on Friday night and share a hotel room with my mom (who was coming down from Bellingham) so we could get some sleep and be up early, but not too early on Saturday.  So 10pm on friday, I arrived at our hotel room.

     

    Now, the silly thing is, I decided at the last minute that I wanted to participate in the card swapping that happens at every Stampin’ Up event.  So instead of getting them done early like a sane person, I only had time to plan in my head and grab supplies before heading north to meet my mom. 

    hotel_stampingstationhotel_bedSo once I got in the hotel room, I set to stamping and cutting and glueing everything I needed for my 30 swap cards.  From 10:30pm to 1:30 am, I power crafted with moral support (and then gluing support :)) from my mom.  In the end, I was so glad I made my swaps because I got to trade for some amazing cards.  Plus, I guess it was a good way to warm up for an all day stamping fest on Saturday.   But until I get those photographed and up, here is the swap I came up with:

    foryou_petals_wm

  • One more card using the BigShot

    Hi all!  I know, its been a little bit since I posted on my blog and I blame it all on the Twilight series of books by Stephanie Meyer!  My friend Kally got me hooked on the series and I found myself spending the last two weeks spending my lunch breaks and evenings powering though all four books in the series plus watching the movie and all the behind the scenes extras.  It is seriously addictive! 🙂 

     

    bigshot_bestwishes_wmBut I managed to pull out of the books to get things together for my technique night this week.  Like I mentioned before, we met at a Roundtable Pizza and it actually worked reasonably well.  The biggest problem was that where we were sitting didn’t have the best light after the sun went down.  But if we were in the offical meeting room area I think it would have been fine.  I’m thinking I’ll try hosting my card class there on the 27th (the class is open for more people to come, email me if you want to join in!) 

     

    Here is the final project we did for the Technique Night.  We used texture plates and an embosslit for this card.  These are probably my two favorite items for the bigshot and what pushed me over the edge to buy mine.  Texture just makes everything cooler and having a perfectly embossed AND cut-out image in one is awesome too.  Add in the fabulous kiwi kiss satin ribbon and a half pearl and you’re done!

  • Trying out the BigShot – a card, a box, and the matchbox

    I wanted to put up a quick post before I had to run into work.  This week has gone by so fast and has seemed so busy, but the rest of the week should be more relaxing.  On Tuesday, I was hosting a Technique Night focused on using the BigShot.  Unfortunately, that night I had some folks cancel because of illness, unexpected time conflicts, delays, and getting lost, so it ended up not happening.   One the upside, my friend Jennifer recently decided she wanted to make a baby book for her daughter but had been overwhelmed by where to get started.  So, since she had come over, I helped her figure out what she needed.  She ended up deciding to get the Stampin Up! Baby Girl simply scrappin kit, and after looking at it more closely, I can’t wait for her to get it because I think it is going to be so stinking cute.  Then last night we went to Michaels and picked out an album to go with it.  So, I’m feeling good that we got something productive done. 

     

    So, since the Technique Night didn’t happen this week, I rescheduled it for next Tuesday.  I’m trying something different this time.  I created a meetup group called Portland Card Makers recently and since some of those folks were going to come, I thought I would try out a public location that most people could easily get to and find parking.  So, I ended up finding a Round Table pizza that had side sections with long tables that you could reserve for free.  It may seem odd crafting in a pizza place, but I’ve been to an event at a Fuddrucker’s so, hopefully this will work out.  I guess we’ll see!

     

    Here are some samples I was playing with for the BigShot.  The first is a card using the Top Note die.  It was an interesting and different way to create a card since the inside of the card is the inside of the Top Note die.  Then, I was going to do a box/basket using the Scallop Envelope die and some ribbon.  The last thing we were going to do at the technique night was a card using texture plates and an embosslit but I’m reworking that card right now.  And then finally I thought I would share a box I made with the new Matchbox die.  It was sooo easy to make since everything is cut and scored for you.  You only need to use one piece of sticky strip or snail and its together!  Plus the die punches out the label that I stamped and put on top.  Easy peasy.

     

    bs_technight_wmbs_matchbook_wm

  • A craft fair card

    What a weekend!  The usually cold and rainy Pacific Northwest turned beautiful and sunny for the weekend.  It got up to almost 80 today, which was just nuts!  I was at a craft fair all weekend so I mainly got to see the sunny weather from afar but thankfully it stuck around though the evening so after the fair ended at 6, I raced home to spend a bit of time lounging in the sun.  Now if only this weather would stick around for a few days!

     

     However, even though the weather was so nice and most people were playing outside over the weekend, I am still really glad I was at the craft fair.  I met a ton of nice folks who stopped by my table and chatted with me about their hobbies and experiences card making and scrapbooking.  And the other vendors were a blast to hang out with during the slow periods.  I think it would be fun to do another fair with many of them again in the future.  And if you need any of the products you purchase from in-home parties, I probably have a reference for you now. 🙂  

     

    occasions_jfy_wm

     I had hoped to spend my downtime making a ton of samples and projects but instead spent it chatting and finishing up a number of cards that were in various stages of completion.  In the end, I only created one completely new and original card.  (Though I made a few partials from BigShot die cuts).  I was trying to use some of my Occasion mini catalog goodies and so pulled out the paper, Oval all stamps, and the new fabulous scallop oval punch.   The flowers are punched out with the BigShot. 

     

    And speaking of the BigShot,  my next Technique Tuesdays is this coming Tuesday and we will be focused on using the BigShot.  We will be making 2 cards and a small 3D project.  Let me know if you want to come join us and I’ll send you all the details! 

     

    Hope you all had a great weekend!  Here comes monday!

  • Another baby card

    ladybugbabycard_wmI told you that the card I posted earlier in the week was only first of many to come.  🙂  Last Thursday, my co-worker had her last day at work before spending the next week or two preparing for the birth of her baby girl.   I couldn’t let her leave without making her a card.  Again, I waited until the last minute but I guess sometimes pressure is a good thing. 

     

    Almost every piece of this card started as scraps from my pile.  I had to use the new, fabulous scallop oval punch.  i just love punches that let me layer cardstock.  Once I had the card done, I suddenly remembered that they had nicknamed the baby “Lady Bug”.  So, I had to add a little ladybug on the inside.  She is created completely with circle punchs (3/4″ circle, 1/2″ circle, double circle punch).  Such a fun punch art and my coworker loved the fact that I had a ladybug in the card.

  • Thank you Stampin’ secret sister!

    april_ss_wm1  One of the wonderful ladies in my stamping group decided to organize a secret sister group.  When you signed up for this group, you agreed to send your secret sister a handstamped item plus anything additional you want to send.   We were supposed to send out our first gift by the end of March and boy did that deadline come up faster than I think most of us expected!  I know it did for me. 🙂 

     

    Yesterday, I got home from work and had this very cute card waiting for me in my mail box.  She used the Manhattan Flower die for the BigShot to make this simple yet cute card.  And then, she included a movie pass, which with the skyrocketing movie ticket prices is very generous. She knew I liked movies, so now I just have to decide what movie to use it for.  Anyone have any recommendations?

     

    Thanks, Secret Sister!

  • The Occasion mini is here! New punches, new stamps, oh my!

    Wow time has flown and its already April!  But that means it’s time for the new Occasions mini catalog to come out – and boy is this a good one.  There are lots of cool new items in this mini.  There are tons of new stamps, a new awesome scallop oval punch, a new matchbox die for your bigshot, colored rub-ons, courderoy buttons in super cute colors, and more! 

    The mini is good from now through June 30th, but don’t wait until the end to get all the good stuff.  🙂

    occasions-mini

  • Another card organization option – a year in a box!

    cardbox_wm1As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been slowly trying to get my crafting supplies, partial projects, and completed projects organized so I can actually find what I’m looking for in less than 20 minutes. 🙂  Well, when my mom was visiting last month, she brought with her the instructions for a great project.  Using the Forget-me-not keeper from Stampin Up!, we created a decorated box and inserts for storing all of the cards you need to send out in a year.  Now, first I don’t know how many of you out there had seen this box in the SU catalog and were like me and thought, ” that looks just like the photo boxes you get at Michaels only in plastic”.  Well, it took me ordering one to realize they are totally different, and the SU box is way cooler!  Turns out, the boxes you get at craft stores really are made for photos and so are not quite tall enough for your standard 5.5 x 4.25 cards to be placed inside and still have the lid close completely.  The SU box is made to fit cards perfectly, plus it comes with 12 plastic inserts to help you organize the cards you make.  In our case, we used those inserts for each month.   So, now I’m totally a convert to these boxes.  They pack flat and then go together in a jiffy and actually fit my cards.  

     

    cardbox_inserts_wmSo, we placed a piece of cardstock on the inside of the box behind the the front panel to add some color and then used designer paper and ribbon to decorate the frontside.  One note if you are going to decorate one of these boxes yourself.  Definately use the red sticky strip.  The plastic has a slight texture to it, and the sticky strip really locks the paper to the plastic.  For each of the inserts, we printed out a piece of paper with the month dates on it to fill out who needs a card and for why.  We used the So Many Scallops stamp set for all of the stamping in this project and the crop–a-dile made punching a hole in the tabs for the ribbon soo easy.  Really the thing that I think makes the crop-a-dile a must have is how it makes punching thick and hard materials like you were punching through paper.  I’ve punch metal and chipboard and now thick plastic. 

     

    Anyway, when we were all done with the box project, we made four matching cards.  Again, we used some patterns she brought and I was so glad she brought them.  I would never have thought to do some of these techniques like punching out all the cardstock circles and gluing them on a cardfront of the same color – but they all turned out super cute!  We spent most of the day making theses projects because we were chatting and sharing supplies (and cutting the paper, that I think was what took the longest).  I wish my mom lived closer than 5 hrs away so we could do projects like this more often because it is really fun to spend an afternoon crafting and then end in the evening with so much completed so show for it!   Though I guess this means next time she visits it is my turn to come up with the craft project. 🙂

     

    cardbox_cards1_wm    cardbox_cards2_wm 

     

    Box Recipe
    Stamps:
    So Many Scallops
    Inks: Baja Breeze
    Paper:  Windsor Knot DSP, Baja Breeze CS, Old Olive CS, Chocolate Chip CS, So Saffron CS, Whisper White CS
    Accessories:  Forget-me-not Keeper, Double Stitched chocolate chip ribbon,  Filigree Brads, Stampin’ Dimentionals, Sticky Strip, Scallop edge punch, Scallop Square punch, Crop-a-dile

    Card Recipe
    Stamps: 
    So Many Scallops
    Inks:  Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip
    Paper:  Windsor Knot DSP, Chocolate Chip CS, Old Olive CS, Baja Breeze CS, So Saffron CS, Whisper White CS
    Accessories:  Sage Shadow 1/4″ ribbon, Whisper White 1/4″ ribbon, Apricot Appeal 1/4″ ribbon, Chocolate Chip 5/8″ ribbon, filigree brads, glue dots, 1/2″ circle punch, Scallop edge punch, Scallop Square punch, Stampin’ Dimentionals, So Saffron marker, Chocolate chip marker, Sage Shadow marker, Old Olive marker

  • The first baby card of the season

    So, I’m realizing that I’m now of the age that wedding seasons are winding down and its baby time for many of my friends.  Over the last month or two, I’ve learned that at least 5 friends are pregnant with most of their due dates being later this summer and fall.  I’m so excited for all of them and am looking forward to having lots of cute little babies to play with.   Yesterday was the first of a number of baby showers and so I needed a card to go with my gift.  Of course, I waited until the last minute to put it together so I was rushing the morning of our drive to Seattle to put one together.   

     

    baby_congrats_wmIf you can’t guess, we learned that our friends were having a girl so I had to go with the pink theme and this Bella Rose designer paper seemed to fit the bill.  I pulled out my old baby stamp set for the stamp set and went from there.  If I had more time I would have colored in the teddy bear but I think it works as is.  The other fun bit I did was to take a pretty in pink brad and wrap the tines around the knot in my taffeta bow to make the pink center.  It was a little hard to get started but I think it adds a fun bit of color to the ribbon. 

     

    The baby shower ended up being lots of fun.  Since it was a co-ed shower, my hubby came with me and we had a chance to catch up with a number of friends that we haven’t seen in over a year.  Hopefully now that we live closer to Seattle (and I seem to drive up there all the time) we will see them more.  I was wondering what kind of game they might play at a co-ed shower and it turns out they put together a game of Life (like the board game) using pieces of paper taped to the floor.  At one point you have to either go down the kids or no kids path based on if you have kids or not.  I made it through the no kids path first and the last square was labeled “suprise”.  I was told to flip up the paper and read the suprise.  Turns out the suprise is you are accidentally pregnant and get to go back to the start of the kids path.  We all laughed and said of course, its a baby shower so everyone has kids in this game. 🙂  And the honored mom-to-be won the game so it turned out perfect. 

     

    Recipe
    Stamps: 
    Bundle of Joy, Congrats
    Ink:  Close to Cocoa, Pink Pirouette (for sponging the teddy bear edges)
    Paper:   Whisper White CS, Basic Black CS, Bella Rose DSP
    Accessories: White taffeta ribbon, Soft Subtle Brads, glue dots, mat pack and paper piercer, sponge