Pennant Parade “Framed” Christmas Card

I hear from almost everyone I meet when stamping the infamous phrase “I’m not creative”… so I thought for this month’s team meeting, I’d share an idea for a card that was completely inspired by a card in our demonstrator magazine Stampin’ Success.  It was all about taking an idea you see somewhere, getting inspired by the idea, and then making it your own.

In this case, the idea was to punch or die cut a hole in a piece of cardstock and popping it up on dimensionals (foam dots) to give you a frame.  Then placing a cut or punched element in the middle of the frame.  In my case, I was inspired to pull out my Pennant Parade stamp set!

So, all the folks who attended my meeting in person got to make one of these cards themselves and everyone else I shared how to make the card via webcam.  But the key elements is to take a piece of Gumball Green cardstock (in this case a 4”x4” piece) and slide the 2 1/2” circle punch as far in as it will go towards the center of the cardstock.  Punch out your hole and run the remaining square through your Big Shot to add texture.

I added a piece of patterned paper from the Festival of Prints designer paper stack behind the circle cut out – directly on the card base.

Then everything else was popped up for dimension.  It looks like a lot but is actually a really fast and easy card since the tree is punched out with the Pennant Builder punch and the Merry was punched out with the Word Window punch.

But try this card idea with layering other punch shapes or your favorite framelit for different looks and styles!

New Updates in the Clearance Rack! ~ they are going fast!

Everyone loves a great deal right?  Well, I just wanted to make sure everyone knew that the Clearance Rack in the online store has been updated with a lot of awesome stuff including new Big Shot dies, new paper, ink spots, and more!

Remember items are limited and while supplies last.  I know a number of items have already sold out, so if you see something you really want, make sure to grab it.

Check out what is left in the Clearance Rack

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Pennant Parade Framed Christmas Card Recipe
Stamps: Pennant Parade
Ink: Gumball Green, Soft Suede, Cherry Cobbler
Paper: Gumball Green, Whisper White, Festival of Prints designer series paper
Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Cherry Cobbler Scallop dotted ribbon, 2-1/2” Circle punch, Pennant Builder punch, Word Window punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals

A Raspberry Ripple and Primrose Petals Thank You

One of the things I love about the internet is that it allows me to connect with new stamping buddies and friends.  Recently, I was lucky enough to connect up with Angela.  I had actually referred her to a demo closer to her home but due to some circumstances she ended up connecting back up with me.  I got to meet her adorable family at my garage sale and so when she placed an order with me recently, I wanted to send her a special thank you card.  So, this is what went in the mail to her:

This card is a fun combination of a lot of new items:  new in colors – Raspberry Ripple and Primrose Petals, new stamps – Itty Bitty Banners and Make a Cake, new dsp – Patio Party, and new framelits – Banner framelits!  Plus, of course, the pennant punch.

I love how Make a Cake is perfect for paper piecing the middle layer of the cake…just you wait, you’ll be seeing more of that from me later.

So, to all my internet stamping friends and customers… I’m so glad to have met you – even if its only been virtually!  I’ll see you around the internets soon!

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A Bright and Bold Thank You

One of my goals right now is to use up my scraps – whether left over pieces when cutting paper or stamped and punched images that I decided not to use on a previous project.  So, when I was working on thank you cards for customers, I grabbed some left over pieces of designer paper and I had fun layering!

This card actually uses designer paper from two different packs – Summer Smooches (for the banners and the accent piece on the sentiment) and Berry Blossom (for the polka dotted background).  But don’t they work well together?

It also uses 2 retiring items – Thank You Kindly stamp set and the silver brads.  Both of these items I can’t believe are going away because they are such staples.  But I know I will be keeping the Thank You Kindly set because it gives me 4 different thanks sentiments, and I’m expecting awesome new things in the catalog next month!

Oh, so one last thing for today, I wanted to show you how to get those tips of the banners without having to guess with your scissors – and, if you are like me, get totally random results each time!  You just need to grab your Pennant Punch!

The photo above shows how the corner of the pennant punch actually can make a really nice and consistant tip for your banners.  What you want to do is slide your paper into the punch from the side so that it lines up with a corner on the short end of the pennant.  You will have to slide your paper around a little to line it up evenly, but once you’ve done it it goes fast each time.  Ta-da!!

So, I hope you got some new idea from this today.  If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Need the punch or anything else for your craft projects? I’d love to help you as your demonstrator!  Shop online or shoot me an email.  Ask my current customers, I’m always up for sending photos or creating videos to help you with your creative needs!

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Get them before they are gone! Items are selling out so don’t miss out!

Retiring Stamps  |  Retiring Accessories  |  Retiring Décor Elements

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

Scrapbooking Sunday: Thinking of Spring

Its Sunday, and so I’m back again with more scrapbooking ideas.  This week, I decided to start from a sketch that came from some friends of mine.  They recently started a challenge blog called The Paper Girls Challenge, where twice a month they post some kind of crafty challenge.  Their first challenge was a scrapbook page sketch and I thought it looked like a lot of fun.  So, here is how my version turned out:

The sketch had you putting a banner in the upper left corner and I decided I wanted to say “Spring” which ended up leaving me with extra space to fill.  I just happened to have a doily cut out using the Paper Doily sizzlit and so I spritz’d it with Gold Smooch to match the colors and turned it into my sun.

But, see, I don’t really like having single page layouts in my scrapbook – I’m just a little weird like that; so I had to create a second page to go with this page.  Thus:

I forgot to mention that I was once again pulling out my Country Club Simply Scrappin’ Kit so the colors and the designer paper all came from this kit.  It also had these white rounded corner stickers that I started to pull off for journalling when I realized they would be perfect as clouds!  I love the touch of whimsy they give this page in real life.

I thought I’d point out the last two fun elements that I added to this page to help give it some pop and fill some space.

First are the flowers I added next to the pictures.  I had originally planned to use the Boho Blossoms punch to make flowers to use along the designer paper at the bottom of the page but changed my mind.  So, I had extra punch outs that ended up going perfect with my garden theme.

Then, instead, along the bottom of the page, I grabbed my Vintage tags and snipped off the hanging thread.  Then I filled them with a punch flower from the Boho Blossom punch in Not Quite Navy and then added a central image using some of the stickers from the Simply Scrappin’ kit.

All together, they actually were pretty quick to put together!

So now, here is the final result with the two pages side by side:

They may look a little bare compared to some of those super fancy scrapbook pages out there; but I love how it turned out in real life.  Plus, now I’m 3 more pictures done in my backlog of printed photos to scrap!

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Spring Scrapbook Layout Recipe:
Paper: Country Club Simply Scrappin’ Kit, Certainly Celery CS, So Saffron Textured CS, Not Quite Navy CS, Pear Pizzazz CS, Cajun Craze CS
Accessories:  Big Shot die cutting machine, Paper Doily sizzlit, Pennant Builder punch, Billboard Alphabet die, Little Leaves Sizzlit, Boho Blossom punch, 5/8” Neutrals Brads, Paper Piercer