Northwest Stamper

Tag: organza ribbon

  • Snow Much Fun Convention Swaps & Checkin Day!

    Woo hoo!  Convention is here and it was a busy day in Salt Lake City for me yesterday.  I spent the first night in town (Tuesday night) finishing up my swaps and getting settled in after arriving late in the evening.  I wanted to use Dazzling Details (Stampin’ Up!’s glitter glue) on my cards so I glittered them up and had them all out to dry around the room. Smile

     

    swaps out 1swaps out 2

     

    The end result, I think, turned out pretty nice.  Unfortunately I had a heck of a time taking a picture in the light of the hotel room that shows the glitter, but I think you can tell here:

    Snow Much Fun Swap 2012Snow Much Fun Swap 2012 close up

     

    This was one of my two swaps and today I can’t wait to swap like crazy.  I’ve already seen some super cute cards and I know there will be tons more today!

    But yesterday was filled with picking up our bags:

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    and visiting Momento Mall!  (If you want to see more Momento Mall photos, check out my facebook page where I posted a bunch of pictures from yesterday)IMAG0003

    Then we got an early peak at display boards and product showcases including checking out the new trimmer!  Did you know that the new trimmer has a lock so that the plastic blade guide (where you slide the cutter up and down) so that it doesn’t flop open when you are putting it in your bag for crops?  And the numbers are under the laminate on the platform so they won’t rub off??  Oh, I hope they announce that it is releasing soon!

    IMAG0002_COVER IMAG0136

    Well, General Session starts at 8:30 and then it is off to make & takes and classes!  I’ll be posting some to my facebook page throughout the day and then I’ll try to post more pictures tonight of more convention goodies.

    And don’t forget my Convention Week specials!!

    Don’t forget, get a FREE INK PAD and be entered in a CHANCE TO WIN a $25 GIFT CERTIFICATE when you place your order with me this week.

    Any order of $50 or more can pick out your favorite color of the new style of firm foam ink pad, and every order is entered into a drawing to win the gift certificate.  Shop online or email me your order at jennifer@nwstamper.com and I’ll get you all taken care of!

    Well I’m off!  I’ll share more later!

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

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

  • An Everyday Enchantment Valentine

    Hopefully you had a chance to enjoy the blog tour earlier this week.  I loved playing with the new Sale-a-Bration items for my projects and so I reached for them again when I was working on a card for a long-distance workshop I have coming up.

    I was working within the constraints of what stamps, ink, and tools my hostess had; but since I was providing the paper and embellishments – I knew I really wanted to work in the Everyday Enchantment designer paper and Calypso Coral Organdy ribbon.

    I also was excited to use the Fun Flowers Bigz L die for the Big Shot. I don’t use mine nearly enough but I started playing with a Very Vanilla flower and thought it really went with the vintage look when I sponged the edges. Then I was told that the scallop circle punch from the Itty Bitty Punch Pack fit perfectly in the scallop circle from the Fun Flowers die, and that gave it just the right amount of Pop!

    This is one of those cards that looks complicated but is actually really easy to pull together.  So hopefully the girls getting together for the workshop will have a lot of fun making their own copies!

    Interested in hosting a workshop even if you aren’t local?

    I’m happy to work with you to put together a long-distance workshop so that you can earn all your hostess benefits at your own convenience.  Email me at jennifer@nwstamper.com for more details!

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

     

    Fun Flowers Valentine’s Day Card Recipe:
    Stamps:  French Foliage, Teeny Tiny Wishes
    Ink:  Crumb Cake, Early Espresso
    Paper: Everyday Enchantment designer paper**, Lucky Limeade cardstock, Very Vanilla cs, Calypso Coral cs
    Accessories:  Big Shot, Fun Flowers Bigz L die, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Adhesive Backed Pearls, 1/8” Calypso Coral Organdy ribbon**, Sponge Daubers

    ** FREE items as part of the Stampin’ Up! Sale-a-Bration promotion

  • Vintage Fresh for Today’s Sudsol Blog Tour!

    SUDSOL Blog Tour, February 1st!
    Hi everyone!  Today is the day for the big SUDSOL blog tour.  I love all the ideas you can find on a blog tour and hopefully my projects today will give you some new ideas to try at home.  For this tour, the focus is on the fun new things in the Occasion Mini and the Sale-a-Bration catalogs.  I decided to show you some of my favorites with 3 different projects; and since I have a lot to share…lets get this show on the road!

    A Scallop Circle Mini Basket

    So, for those of you not familiar with SUDSOL, it is a community and content website specifically for Stampin’ Up! demonstrators who are interested in really focusing on thinking about their stamping business as an actual business.  So, there are lots of great ideas, tips, and sharing of projects – including a library full of templates and project patterns with photos and instructions created by other demos (not a member? click the link above to sign-up for a 2 week FREE trial to check it out).

    Anywho, I was browsing the library and found this totally novel idea for how to turn a Scallop Circle (from the Bigz Big Shot die) and turn it into a little box – or in my case, add a handle and make it a basket. See:

    Seriously, I would have never thought to score and cut a scallop circle die cut to make a small rectangular box.  But isn’t it cute !!  I pulled out my coordinating Sale-a-Bration items: Fresh Vintage stamp set, Everyday Enchantment designer paper, and the Everyday Enchantment brads and ribbon pack; and went to town decorating!

    So, I started by pulling out the pattern I liked from the designer paper and making a 1/2” band around the box.  I had a piece left over from cutting my band and so I cut that in half (making two 1/4” strips) to make my basket handle.  I didn’t like the seam where I glued them together at the top of the handle, so I pulled out the Lucky Limeade organza ribbon and wrapped it around the seam to hide it.

    As you can see, I have chocolate in my basket (yum! chocolate!)  I actually have 2 undecorated Reese’s mini peanut butter cups in the bottom of the basket and 2 decorated ones on top.  I used the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch along with the Fresh Vintage stamp set to decorate my candy.

    SU Demos – you can find the instructions for this box in the SUDSOL library here. 

    A Fresh Vintage Thank You Card

    Alright, so I had the chocolate and the basket, I needed a card to go with it.  So, I set out by pulling out my next favorite item – Framelits Labels collection!

    I wanted to use the big flower image from the Vintage Fresh stamp set and was super excited to see that one of the labels seemed to have curves that exactly fit the shape of the flower’s flourish.  So, I started with that as my guide for the layout.  Then I wanted to use my current favorite ribbon – Pleated Satin Ribbon in Blushing Bride.  Yes, you heard right… they pre-pleat the ribbon for you!

    Anyway, I knew I wanted to use the labels and the ribbon and so then I just fiddled with placement and papers until I thought it looked alright.  Here are a few touches that might be hard to see in the above picture:

    Sponging of the Blushing Bride label and the Basic Grey cardbase with Blushing Bride ink.  Oh, and popping up the smallest label.

     

    I stamped the repeating flourish pattern from the stamp set along the bottom of the card front with my stamp-a-ma-jig and then layered the ribbon along the top edge.

    A Fresh Vintage Stand-Up Card

    Alright, so I had been tasked to create 3 projects for this blog tour and I was now up to 2.  I decided to turn back to the SUDSOL pattern library to see if there was something that really pulled me in.  I ran across this stand-up card pattern and thought it was something I had never done before and it looked like fun.  So, I gave it a go and this is the results!

    I love how this card style will actually lie flat for mailing in an envelope but stands up when you pull it out.  Cool, huh?

     

    I tried to keep in theme by using the same color schemes (or at least more Blushing Bride and Pool Party), designer paper, and stamps. I decided to pull out one more new Occasion Mini product to play with for this project – Twitterpated designer buttons. I was inspired by some recent vintage-y scrapbook pages I had seen and wanted to try out lots of layers for the focal point and then have some sentiment that suited staring at me from a shelf. Thus – Beautiful Life.

    SU Demos – you can find the instructions for this card style in the SUDSOL library here.

     

    Whew! You made it!  I had so much fun creating these projects and I hope you enjoyed them as well.  I’d love to hear which was your favorite – please leave me a comment and let me know!

    CONTINUE on the Blog Tour

                           

    Adriana Benitez                            Annette Bogue

    And after the tour I’d love to have you come back and visit here again; or for SUDSOL members, check out more of my projects in my gallery on the SUDSOL site.

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

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  • It’s Sale-a-Bration Time!

    “Celebrate good times, come on! “

    … that is totally the song going through my head right now as I typed the title for this post.  But the perky tune matches my smile and mood as I’m so excited to be re-kicking off my blog (including a new blog design!) and sharing the first of many projects I’ve been working on lately.

    Also, I absolutely LOVE Sale-a-Bration time at Stampin’ Up! because who doesn’t love getting extra free stuff?

    Wanna see what I did with some of my free stuff? I used the new Fresh Vintage Sale-a-Bration stamp set and matching ribbon, along with one of my favorite new items in the Occasions Mini – framelits!

    This is actually a pretty quick card to make aside from the coloring of the stamp with markers.  But I think all the colors are worth it – don’t you agree?

    This year there are a ton of fabulous products and amazing incentives during Sale-a-Bration:

    • Get FREE exclusive items for every $50 you spend! There are stamps, cardstock, designer paper, fabric, digital designs, buttons, ribbon, and even embossing folders to choose from.
    • Get extra FREE items when you host a party!  Get a cute shopping tote on top of your regular hostess benefits with a $150+ workshop.  Get a free bundle of Sale-a-Bration coordinating items (Fresh Vintage stamp set and matching designer paper, brads, and ribbon!) with a $400 workshop.
    • Get a FREE pack of designer paper or a digital download EVERY month for the rest of 2012 ~plus~ get a discount on the starter kit when you sign up as a demonstrator!  Seriously, this is such a cool offer they are running right now.  Not only do you get the full starter kit at a great price, along with all the other benefits of being a demonstrator, but you get free stuff every month as well.  How cool is that?!

    I know, it’s a lot to take in.  But check out the super cute stuff in the Sale-a-Bration catalog and let me know if I can answer any questions or if I can help get you all the freebies you are drooling over!

    I’ll be back tomorrow with more card ideas using some fun new Sale-a-Bration and Occasion mini products.  So, until then –

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

    Vintage Flower Card Recipe:
    Stamps:      Fresh Vintage (SAB)
    Ink:  Old Olive classic, Soft Suede classic, Calypso Coral marker, Blushing Bride marker, Marina Mist marker, So Saffron marker, Old Olive maker
    Paper: Old Olive cardstock, Soft Suede cs, Very Vanilla cs
    Accessories:  Calypso Coral 1/8” organza ribbon (SAB), BigShot, Framelits – Labels, Adhesive Pearls, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Snail adhesive

  • Sometimes the Card Wins

    If you have been to any of my classes or events, you’ve probably heard me say “its not a mess up, its just an opportunity for embellishment!”  And I really do believe that when you do something and say “oops!” you can usually tweak your card design or add an embellishment and you will still end up with an awesome card.  However, this week I had the card that finally beat me. 🙂

    I was designing a card for my meet & greet with my local meetup group and had an idea to use sponging and the Sale-a-Bration stamp set Bliss.  I did some masking of the center of the card, and when I looked at it, I decided I needed to draw an outline of the masked area to help it stand out.  Unfortunately, I drew my rectangle lopsided, so I thought, I’ll just rotate my white layer and it will be artsy.  But that looked wierd, so I thought I needed to do more to make the center stand out and look good, so I did clear embossing over the flourish.  It was nice, but not enough.  So I added ribbon and then I added piercing along the bottom of the center area.  In the end I just gave up and decided to call it a loss.  Oh, and di I mention that this was supposed to be a card showing how you could do something simple with little to no layers? 🙂

    But, I thought the base idea was good, so I tried again, pulling out some of my favorite elements of the first card and really like how the second card turned out. 

    This is the card we will be making on Saturday and it uses sponging with sponges and with sponge daubers, paper piercing with the mat pack, and then coloring ribbon (its the Organza ribbon that is originally white!) with markers.  I can’t wait!

    And don’t forget, this is the last few weeks to earn this stamp set – Bliss – free with any $50 order.

    Stop by the online store and grab some of your favorites and enjoy your Sale-a-Bration freebies!

    Bliss Card Recipe:
    Stamps:     Bliss (Sale-a-Bration)
    Ink: So Saffron, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Bravo Burgundy
    Paper: Whisper White CS
    Accessories: Whisper White Organza ribbon, Bravo Burgundy Marker, Paper Piercing tool, Mat Pack, Stampin’ Dimensionals

  • Some Northern Hearts Card Candy

    I realized recently that while most people know what Blog Candy is (fun giveaways on a blog), that one of the things I gave away in my recent blog candy was “card candy” and that term may not be as familiar to some people.  Well, I wanted to share what I mean and the fun card candy I sent to Penny.

    I first heard the term “card candy” in reference to a swap at convention and when I read more, I learned that it means treats and embellishments for your cards.  In other words, the layered embellishments that you can put on simple card bases and layouts to add a fun touch.  So, in keeping with the theme I used for the box on the Royal Blog Tour, I did some more playing with the stamp set and other punches and embellishments to create some pieces that can be used on a card later.

    It was fun to play with the stamps, punches, and other elements to see what I could come up with that would be cute and could be used incorporated into another project.  I also tried out some new stuff and really liked how they turned out and so I wanted to share with you.

    First, I thought it would be fun to use the Northern Flurries embossing folder but once I had embossed the Bashful Blue paper it looked a bit plain.  I suddenly thought of my Stampin’ Pastels (chalks) that I hadn’t pulled out in ages and started experimenting with them.  Then I decided to add some bling to the center and then a little more Dazzling Diamonds glitter just to make sure there was some extra sparkle.  I really liked using chalks with the embossing folder and will have to play more with this.

     

    Then I started playing with the snowflakes as background images and wanted to add a little pop, so I stamped the snowflakes on Whisper White, punched out the centers, and added them to the edges of the paper, trimming what hung over the edge.  Then I punched two holes in the top to make a faux bow.  I LOVE how this ribbon looks when you make this bow.  The satin center shows in the middle and you still get the organza showing on the bits that hang out the side.  I’m definitely going to have to do this again.

    Finally, the last one I thought I’d talk about specifically is my little tag.  It was so cool to me when I realized that the birds fit perfectly in the Extra Large Tag punch.  So, I used my markers to only color in the birds and part of the vine on the bottom.  Then, I wanted to try something different with the ribbon and so grabbed the Whisper White Organza and this time colored the center part only using my Always Artichoke marker.  It went really fast and turned out so much nicer than I expected!

    I hope Penny enjoys using these in her projects!  And now you know what I mean when I say “card candy” too. Smile 

    Just a note that if you’ve been enjoying these Northern Hearts projects, this is a hostess set that is only going to be available while the Holiday Mini is here (so until mid-January.  So, if you are enjoying these projects and this set, I’d be happy to help you earn this set for free.  Just send me a note at jennifer@nwstamper.com and I’ll see what we can do!