Northwest Stamper

Tag: blossom punch

  • Sending off Mixed Bunch and the Modern Label Punch with a Blue Bokeh Card

    Every year I have one item on the Stampin’ Up retiring list that I can’t believe is going away.  This year, I can’t believe the Modern Label punch is retiring!  Especially since it goes so awesomely with the Word Window punch!  I guess that just means I have to enjoy it now (and hang on to mine and keep loving it after they stop making it too. Smile)

    Today I wanted to share another Bokeh card we did in my technique class.  I think I’ve decided I love mixing in colored circles with my white circles when doing the Bokeh technique.  What do you think?

    Featured Retiring Products:

    Get them before they are gone by the end of the month!

    Tips for making this card:

    • Start with a piece of vellum and some circle punches – I used the 1”, 1-1/4”, and 1-3/8” circles and punch out a template to use for layering.
    • Randomly sponge the background with your favorite color combination
      (this was Lost Lagoon, Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, and Hello Honey)
    • Use your circle template to layer colored and WHITE craft ink circles on top of your background.  It looks best if you overlap your circles.
    • Keep it interesting by adding a punched flower, but trim some of the edges so it fits to colored layer (kind of makes it look like it is behind a window or something, huh?)
    • The Venetian Crochet trim is a nice, soft addition to cards without being too girly because of it’s thin size.


    Get them before they are gone!  The retiring accessory list is while supplies last and as you saw with the Blossom Punch, things are selling out.  Make sure you have ordered your favorites and when you shop with me, you will be on the list to get a new catalog sent to you!  Shop now

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    Project Supplies Used:

    Price: $15.95

    Price: $16.95

    Price: $12.95

    Price: $3.50

    Supply List

    Built for Free Using:  My Stampin Blog

  • Sale-a-Bration countdown with Scallop Tag Punch Boxes

    Ok, after spending almost an hour fighting with my computer on formatting of this blog post, I’m just giving up and I hope you don’t mind if it scrolls a little long! 🙂 I’m starting the Sale-a-Bration countdown today and so I’ll be spending the next 4 days sharing Sale-a-Bration projects, and I just know I will have a bunch to share, so I figured I’ll post a few each day to fill you up with ideas! scallop tag punch boxes Last weekend was my first ever Stamp & Share for my group of Fun n’ Crafty demonstrators.  I am so grateful for these ladies and I wanted to make sure I was helping created events and opportunities for everyone to get to know each other, stamp together, and share ideas.  So, I put together an afternoon of stamping fun and business tips.  It was a huge success and I can’t wait to start planning the next one as I’d love to hold these each quarter! This time, I had some great presenters who shared some tips and tricks for some of our tools – specifically the Scallop Tag punch and the Thinlit flip dies.  Kathy Thisted (below) shared on the Scallop Tag punch. She had a TON of good ideas and tips but I’ll share the one that was new and exciting to me!  The idea that you can punch paper that is larger than 2”! I know, that shouldn’t be as mind blowing to me as it is, but I thought you could only punch paper that was 2” or less; but she showed how you can make borders, cut box flaps, and more with larger paper.  The big trick though to making sure you have the scallop edge where you want is to mark the front of your punch with a piece of paper or post-it showing where the edges of the tag opening are.  That way, you can align your score lines or markings on your paper so that the scallop tag end is exactly where you want it! Then she shared a bunch of great boxes including this one – all using some great Sale-a-Bration items including the Sweet Sorbet paper, See Ya Later stamp set, Banner punch, Sweet Sorbet accessories, and the Heartfelt Banner kit :

    It is a simple 2” strip of cardstock that has been folded in half to make your basic bag shape.  Then add small strips of cardstock to the sides (adhering to the inside of your tag) to make the walls to keep your goodies from falling out the sides!  (side note – aren’t those little banners stinkin’ cute sticking out from behind the label framelit cut out?) Next was another box she made, only this time she took two of the flaps and cut the ends using the scallop tag punch.  The opposite flaps were trimmed and decorated.  But the scallop top makes for a cute decorative touch and a great place for a ribbon to tie your box closed.

    Oh!  I totally forgot to point out the coolest part!  See that canvas banner on the side of the box?  Guess where it is from?  And no, she did not hand cut it! Give up?  It is from the Heartfelt Banner kit!!  How clever to cut up the banner kit into cute pieces to use in other projects.  Love that multi-purpose functionality. I just LOVED this third box though.

    Another tall box with the scallop tag punch… but my favorite touches?

    1. The belly band with the huge flower using the Blossom Punch
    2. Tying the Sweet Sorbet twine through the top and anchoring it with a Vintage Faceted button!  Those buttons are really pretty but I never know what to do with them.  Looks like this is a really good answer! Smile

    So, hopefully you saw some fun ideas and inspiration here.  Have a question about one of the boxes?  Leave me a comment or shoot me an email at jennifer@nwstamper.com and I’ll see if I can get the details for you!

    Don’t forget, everything you see here that is from Sale-a-Bration is going away after Monday March 31st!  So take advantage of the last 4 days of Sale-a-Bration

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    (Yes! There is still time for a last minute facebook or online party!)

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    So, have fun and I’ll be back with more ideas for you soon!

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    March Online Stamp Club Hostess Code – XEWP4DFD
    Use this code to get free exclusive tutorials & project kit! Learn more

     

    Supplies Used (click any picture for descriptions or to add to your shopping cart)

    133324s
    125603s
    127555s
    109070s
    132982s
    125598s
    131390s
    124005s
    117193s
    133521s
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  • When You Need A Bright And Cheery Card

    how about this one? All you need is some scraps and a couple punches and you have a sunshiney card for someone.  I always seem to make 4.25” x 5.5” cards (since they fit so nicely in envelopes that the post office will mail with a standard stamp) but sometimes just a little card you can tuck into a gift bag, someone’s backpack, or just surprise someone with, is fun to play to with different sizes and shapes.

     Mixed Bunch Oh hello thanks

    This 3×3 card comes together super fast too!  For this card I used:

    Stamps:  Oh Hello
    Paper: Brights Collection Designer Paper Stack, Pumpkin Pie cs, Very Vanilla CS
    Ink:  Early Espresso
    Accessories:  Blossom punch, 1 1/4” circle punch, 1” circle punch, Gumball Green stitched satin ribbon, Snail adhesive

    So, try different colors or sentiments and you can have a rainbow of spring flowers brightening up your crafting space. Smile 

     

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  • Wishing You A Merry Christmas!

    Christmas Eve was the start of a wonderful few days with my family; and so I’ll be busy with family dinners, gift exchanges, and playing with the kids.  But I wanted to make sure to stop by and wish you all a very merry Christmas!

    Here is a card for all of you that I didn’t get a card in the mail to (which is a lot of people since I barely got through family cards by Dec 24th! Smile)

     

    Whether you are with family or celebrating in your own special way, I hope you have a wonderful day and are able to take some time this holiday month to relax and enjoy all the good things in your life.

    And thank you too for being a part of my life and journey as well.  I am blessed to have so many friends, fans, and readers to make this creative stamping adventure I’m on, be the most inspiring and amazing one for me.  So, THANK YOU!

     

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    Every order gets you closer to your FREE stamp set!Click here to learn more!

  • Getting Monochromatic with the 2012 In Colors

    I have a friend who hosts Stampin’ Up! workshops for me from a couple states away (she lives in Colorado, I live in Washington), so I send her a project and some fun samples to share with her friends who come over to stamp.

    This time, I wanted to let everyone see what the new In Colors really look like in person – from the ink, to the cardstock, to the ribbon, and even the dahlias!  I mean, they look nice in the catalog but its kind of like ordering clothes online.  The picture looks great but what will it really look like when you get it home.  So, I took on the challenge to create a set of cards that showcased each color and this is the results:

     

    Each card uses the Mixed Bunch stamp set at the base image and then uses the new 1-1/4” scallop circle punch and the Boho Blossoms punch to build up the flower.  Then some Stitched satin ribbon wrapped around the card and a Dahlia on top and you are done!  These were quick to put together but definitely POP in person.

    Now the only question is which color I like best. 🙂

     

    Did you get the first week of the 12 weeks of Christmas newsletter?
    Keep an eye out- week 2 is heading to your inboxes tomorrow!  If you aren’t signed up yet, you have until tomorrow morning to sign up and you’ll be set for the remaining 11 weeks!

     

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    Ribbon Heart Card Recipe
    Stamps:     Mixed Bunch
    Ink: Raspberry Ripple, Primrose Petals, Summer Starfruit, Gumball Green, Midnight Muse
    Paper: Raspberry Ripple, Primrose Petals, Summer Starfruit, Gumball Green, Midnight Muse, Whisper White
    Accessories: Blossom Punch, 1-1/4” Scallop Circle punch, Boho Blossom punch, Stitched Satin Ribbon (Gumball Green, Summer Starfruit, Primrose Petals, Raspberry Ripple, Midnight Muse), In Color Dahlias, Glue Dots, Stampin’ Dimensionals

  • A Little Bit of Digital, A Little Bit of Traditional

    Just a reminder – today is the last day to get 31% off a ton of digital content and print orders.  Even if you haven’t tried My Digital Studio yet, did you know that you can actually use the digital downloads in software you probably have on your computer already?

    * Digital content and images can be used in any computer program that allows pictures to be imported or pasted in, including – Photoshop, Publisher, PowerPoint, Word, Paint, etc.

    So, imagine you are editing your holiday letter or creating a photo holiday card, you can easily add your favorite Stampin’ Up! images to your project and really up the style factor.

    Now if you are like me though, for my card and scrapbooking projects, I don’t like the 1-dimensional look of purely printed projects…even if you add back shading or highlights to the image.  However, here is a great example of how you can use digital designing to get a perfect stamped image in the size you want  and still add your dimension and hand stamped style to make a really cool card.

    card designed by Linda Romer

    Ok, take a moment – guess which parts of that card are digital…. 🙂

    Not as easy as you would think, huh?  Well, here is a close up side view of the card to help you out:

     

    Yup, I still have to refer back to the physical sample to check myself.  But the entire “designer series paper/stamped” Pool Party layer are digital!  Talk about a great way to mass produce a complicated card!  The digital layer is just adhered to some cardstock and the cardbase to get the card started.

    Then she added a heat embossed Mixed Bunch flower that was punched out, layered, and topped with a printed designer brad.  And don’t you love how she used a Lucky Limeade Blossom punch out to create the leaves.  Cute huh?

    I have to admit, I found this card really inspiring to me for a great way to use digital “scrapbooking” to create great projects in a fraction of the time and still provide a Wow! effect.

    What do you think?
    Would you use digital software or images to create you card or scrapbooking projects?

    And like I mentioned before, don’t miss the 31% off deal that ends at 11:59pm Mountain time tonight!  Check out what is on sale now.

     

    Shop for Stamps and More Online, click here!

    Don’t Miss it!  Free Stitched Satin Ribbon with every $40 purchase!

    Are you earning yourNorthwest Stamper Rewards? Every order gets you closer to your FREE stamp set! Click here to learn more!

  • Quick Mixed Bunch Party Favor

    Can you tell, I like this stamp set? 🙂  I know, I get a little addicted to stamps that have matching punches; but it makes things come together so quickly!

    Well, for my recent show, I decided to make these easy little treats to hand out to people who stopped by my demonstrations.  I put my contact information on the back and it doubles as a business card!

    All it takes is stamping one of the flowers from the Mixed Bunch stamp set in whatever color you like and punching it out with the Blossom punch.  Then punch out another flower in a complimentary cardstock and glue them together.  Adhere a Rolo (I used the Easter colored Rolos) to the center and you have a fun spring flower!

    Tip:  If you are going to use Rolos or other foil wrapped candies, I recommend putting a glue dot in the center of your flower first and then press the candy to the flower.  I tried pressing the Rolo to the glue dot first but when I tried to pull off the glue dot, the foil would try to tear.

    If you want to put a message on the back of your flower, I found the Avery return address labels work great when cut in half.  I just created a file in Word and typed my message on each label twice.  Then I could print out a whole bunch and just cut the labels in half with my paper cutter and they fit on great!

     

    Reminder: Sale-a-Bration ends in 2 weeks!   There is still time to get your free items or to take advantage of the awesome special for joining Stampin’ Up!  But hurry, before the offer ends on March 31st.  Check out the Sale-a-Bration catalog for all the details and then email me at jennifer@nwstamper.com with your favorites and we’ll work together to get them for you!

     

    To Order Stampin’ Up! Products Anytime, click here!

  • Mixed Bunch Quick Thank You Card

    There is something about being a card maker that somehow has tweaked my brain to where I can never seem to let a package get mailed from my house without a card in it!  Even if I’m ready to walk out the door to the post office, I have to walk through my craft room to the garage and then the tugging to my craft table starts.  So, that is what today’s card is all about.

    I needed to get the Cards to Go kits in the mail and I wanted to include a card that was somewhat in theme with the cards this month.  So, I grabbed my scraps of the Flirtatious designer paper and my current favorite Mixed Bunch stamp set and Blossom punch and put this together.  I used the Rock and Roll technique to color my flower (using Daffodil Delight and Melon Mambo ink pads) and then finished it off with a Twitterpated button in the middle.

    I love this stamp set and really hope it gets carried over into the main catalog in June!

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  • A Pretty Pleated Thank You Card

    As I was putting together my Cards to Go kits for this month, I was trying to decide what to make for my third card.  I had so many ideas but wanted something that would be a good balance for the set this time.  So, as I was looking around for inspiration, I saw a card that I had sketched out recently and decided it was the perfect starting point.  In the end, this is what I ended up with:

    The coolest part of this card to me is the butterfly.  The butterfly was actually originally a mistake when I was trying to do a different style butterfly for a demo.  I totally cut off the wrong petal from the new Blossom die but when I stepped back, I decided I liked this version better!  So of course, I had to use it in a card. 🙂

    I hope everyone getting the kits this month enjoy this and the other cards in them!

    Want to get precut and coordinated card kits sent to your door each month (or at least the instructions to your inbox)?  Sign up for my new Cards to Go program and get fun new ideas delivered to you!

     

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  • Mixed Bunch: From Scrapbook Sketch to a Card

    Last weekend, I did a presentation at the Northwest Women’s Show that was based around the idea that you can take one of the many scrapbook sketches out there and use them even if you are not a scrapbooker.  I don’t know about you, but while I like designing cards, sometimes my brain just isn’t working and so it is so nice to have a sketch or design to borrow from.  Often I will use the Stampin’ Up! idea book and catalog and just tweak a card that they use as a sample, but sometimes a scrapbook sketch is perfect!  As in this case:

     

    Mixed Bunch card from scrapbook sketch

     

    I cased a scrapbook layout made by a friend and mixed it up using my Stampin’ Up! supplies (I posted about it recently) and so I took the same elements of the scrapbook page and just shrunk them down a lot to make them fit on a card.

    One of my favorite elements of the original scrapbook page was the color blocked row along the bottom of the layout.  In my version of the scrapbook page, I had taken pieces of cardstock and ran them through my Big Shot with an embossing folder to give them texture; so I did the same thing with my card…only much smaller.

    I also kept the Crumb Cake strip to separate the color blocking from the bottom of the card and the white background.  Then I added in the baker’s twine to keep going with my texture theme.  Now, with a card, I didn’t really have room for both a picture (or stamped image) and the flower, so I decided to keep the flower since I’m totally digging this Mixed Bunch stamp set right now.  And then I stamped my sentiment in the same color (Rich Razzleberry) as my title on my scrapbook page.

    Overall, I love how this card turned out and that I didn’t have to think too hard since I was just copying another design of a scrapbook layout!

    So, here is the challenge for you – take a scrapbook page that you found somewhere and turn it into a card!  Post a link here in the comments of my blog or on my facebook page.  I’d love to see what you come up with.

     

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     First Tooth Scrapbook Page Recipe: 

    Stamps:  Mixed Bunch, Sincere Salutations
    Ink:  Wisteria Wonder classic, So Saffron classic, Rich Razzleberry classic
    Paper: Chocolate Chip cardstock, Whisper White cs, Wisteria Wonder cs, Pink Pirouette cs, Rich Razzleberry cs, Lucky Limeade cs, So Saffron cs, Island Indigo cs, Crumb Cake cs, Concord Crush cs, Very Vanilla cs
    Accessories:  Blossom punch, Scallop Trim border punch, 1” circle punch, Wisteria Wonder bakers twine, Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Stampin’ Dimensionals

  • NW Women’s Show Day 1– Few Supplies, Great Cards!

     

    Yesterday was the first day of the Northwest Women’s Show and the first of 3 days of presentations I’ll be running on the Home Style stage!  It was a lot of fun and I’m excited to go back and share different projects for the next couple days.  But I thought I would share the first set of projects we did on Friday:

    Fri samples copy

    The whole idea of the presentation on Friday was that you didn’t need a lot of supplies or a lot of time to make some great cards!  I sketched four layouts and my upline, Kathy Thisted designed these fun cards using the sketches and a limited the amount of supplies:

    • 5 colors of ink:  Wisteria Wonder, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, and Basic Grey
    • 4 colors of cardstock: Whisper White, Wisteria Wonder, Lucky Limeade, Melon Mambo
    • 1 pack of patterned paper: Flirtatious designer paper
    • 2 stamp sets: Mixed Bunch, Sincere Salutations
    • 1 punch: Blossom punch

    The top two cards in the photo above were all about using a few colors of ink and a little bit of cardstock, you could make some pretty cards that would be unique each time you made them.  Then the second two cards showed how you only needed one package of designer paper and one color of cardstock and a punch and you could make even a variety of more fun cards!  My presentation lasted 30 minutes and I fully demonstrated all 4 of these cards… so a cute card doesn’t need to take very long to make!

    Have questions about these card? Drop me a line at jennifer@nwstamper.com and I’d be happy to help!

     

    Now, we picked these colors because they said “Spring!” but if you were starting from scratch, you could swap out some colors and use Stampin’ Spot mini ink pads and be up and running with only buying a few things:

    Plus don’t forget!  Right now is Sale-a-Bration time and so if you ordered these items you would receive additional free stamps, paper, or embellishments – making the number of card options even bigger!

    If you are in the Seattle area, I’d love for you to stop by my next couple presentations!  I’ll have a door prize drawing as well as show specials all weekend long!  I’ll be there for:

    Saturday – 3:00pm – Stampin’ Up! Style Your Way
    Your papercrafting tools aren’t just for paper crafts!  We’ll be showing you how to create a cute flower adornment for a headband or other home decor ideas along with a stylish gift box and matching card.

    Sunday – 11:30pm – Stamp Therapy: a Creative Outlet for Everyone
    Relax while saving your memories with these fun scrapbooking ideas. Not a scrapbooker? See how to turn those scrapbook page ideas into equally cute cards!

     

    Don’t miss out on Sale-a-Bration – see what you can get FREE with your order!

    To Order Stampin’ Up! Products Anytime, click here!

  • Scrapbooking Sunday: Mixed Bunch Color-blocked Page

    So, this is my last weekend to prep before the big Northwest Women’s Show here in Seattle.  I’m grateful to have the opportunity to present a crafting demonstration on their Home Style stage on each of the 3 days; so I’ve been trying to square away exactly what I’m going to demo.  Well, this is one of the projects I’m planning on showing on Sunday (please forgive the awful photo):

    I saw a layout by a crafty friend of mine named Brettaney Q, who is a super talented scrapbooker, and was inspired to scraplift from it for the show this coming weekend.  She was so nice to give me permission and I love how my version turned out thanks to her inspiration.

    I changed things up because I was using all Stampin’ Up! supplies and it was fun to get to pull out and play with all my tools!

    This layout ended up being all about texture as I cut my strips for the color-blocked bottom of the layout and ran them through my Big Shot using the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder.  And on the top half of the layout I stamped with the Mixed Bunch stamp set with Versamark and embossed using clear embossing powder.  I added some Wisteria Wonder bakers twine along the middle which softens it all a bit.  And then I played with my Mixed Bunch stamp set and the matching Blossom punch to make the flower next to my photo.

    Oh, and the last thing I did was add a simple title to my page.  I again reached for my Big Shot and grabbed my Timeless Type alphabet sizzlets, and cut it out of Rich Razzleberry cardstock.

    I love how it turned out and I hope the visitors to the Women’s show enjoy it too!  I’ll be showing them this project on Sunday along with a matching card using the same layout for those of you who aren’t scrapbookers. 🙂
    If you’d like to come visit me at the show – I’ll be presenting at the following times:

    • Friday 3/2 at 3:30pm on the Home Style Stage
    • Saturday 3/3 at 3:00pm on the Home Style Stage
    • Sunday 3/4 at 11:30am on the Home Style Stage

    I’ll be demo’ing for about 30 minutes and have a display table next to the stage with more samples, information, and of course a show special!  I still have a lot to do but I think the show will be a lot of fun.  Hope you can come say hello if you are local!

     

    To Order Stampin’ Up! Products Anytime, click here!

    First Tooth Scrapbook Page Recipe:
    Stamps:      Mixed Bunch
    Ink:  Wisteria Wonder classic, So Saffron classic, Versamark
    Paper: Chocolate Chip textured cardstock, Whisper White cs, Wisteria Wonder cs, Pink Pirouette cs, Rich Razzleberry cs, Lucky Limeade cs, So Saffron cs, Island Indigo cs, Crumb Cake cs, Concord Crush cs, Very Vanilla cs
    Accessories:  Blossom punch, Scallop Trim border punch, Scallop edge punch, 1” circle punch, Wisteria Wonder bakers twine, Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Heat gun, Clear embossing folder, Timeless Type Junior Alphabet, Stampin’ Dimensionals