Northwest Stamper

Tag: thinking of you card

  • Clean and Simple Elegance Eastern Palace Card

    Clean and Simple Elegance Eastern Palace Card

    Fun n Crafty Blog Hop Team BadgeWoo hoo!  This week is hopping – blog hopping that is!  This time, its my Fun n’ Crafty Stampers team who are here to share with you some fresh ideas using the newest products – our preorder goodies!

    Now, I’ll admit, technically, I might be bending the rules a bit because the goodies I have to show you – you yourself can actually order them TODAY!  Say, what?!  I’m featuring the Eastern Palace suite that is new in the upcoming 2017-2018 Stampin’ Up Annual Catalog.  I’m not going to lie, this was a suite I wouldn’t have really thought twice about if I was just flipping through the catalog.  But Stampin’ Up was smart and they decided to offer it early as part of two Sneak Peek bundles (the starter bundle & the premier bundle).  So, of course, I ordered it. 🙂  And turns out, I love it!

    Eastern Palace Suite Premier Bundle

    My favorite piece in the suite is the Eastern Gold Vinyl Stickers.  That is what makes the shiny gold flower and little circles in the background of my card.  They are so EASY to do and because the stickers are clear and fairly close cut to the images, they blend in and look great!

    Easy Gold Accents with Eastern Gold Vinyl Stickers

    Tips for making this Eastern Palace Clean & Simple card:

    • Sometimes the perfect Gold ink is Yellow! As I was creating this card, I wanted to have the stamped ring around my sentiment fit with the gold accents of the card since I didn’t really want to introduce another color to the mix.  And right as I was lamenting the retirement of gold ink, I looked at my Color Caddy ink spinner and saw the Delightful Dijon ink pad!  I realized that the dark yellow was a great hue to compliment gold.  Too bad it is retiring on May 31st, or I’d be using it with this suite all year!
      Eastern Palace Color Palette with Delightful Dijon
    • Scissors is all you need to pop-out this diecut flower – I saw this flower on a card by Louise Sharp and it in fact inspired this card – but when I went to use my die to cut it out, I realized that the die actually just die cuts the petals so they curl up from the cardstock… it doesn’t cut the whole thing out of the paper!  However, it is an easy 30 second fix to just grab your snips and snip the one spot in between each petal that keeps it connected to the cardstock.  A few quick snips and you have a fun new die shape!
      Easy Gold Accents on Cards with Eastern Palace Suite side view
    • Think outside the suite for coordinating accents – I had the card coming together using the cardstock, stamps, stickers, and even designer paper from the Eastern Palace suite.  But it still needed that elusive something.  Thankfully I remembered the Fabulous Foil Acetate from the current Annual Catalog.  It is super easy to miss and in fact, I often forgot I even had some from my part of last year’s product sampler I ran.  But if you look at that mosaic gold piece above the purple paper, it is a printed window sheet that coordinates PERFECTLY with this suite!  I’m so glad it is carrying over, because now that I realized how fab it actually is; I plan to use the heck out of it. 🙂

    Easy Gold Accents on Cards with Eastern Palace Suite nt

    (thank goodness for samplers saving the day with this card! and yes, I have just released new product samplers for the upcoming catalog for when a year from now we discover that item that we never thought twice about, but now 11 months later is exactly perfect for a project!)

    So, what do you think of this card and this suite?

    I’d love to hear your thoughts… please leave me a comment below and let me know what YOU think of the Eastern Palace Suite!

    Make this project at home! Here is what you’ll need:

    Eastern Palace Premier Bundle

    $103.50

    Layering Circle Framelits Dies

    $35.00

    Fabulous Foil Designer Acetate

    $12.00

    Big Shot

    $110.00

    Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

    $9.00

    Delightful Dijon Classic Stampin' Pad

    $6.50

    Check out more great ideas on the Fun n’ Crafty Blog Hop!

    So, that was my idea using something new from the upcoming catalog.  While you can order the discounted bundle this month, you will be able to order individual pieces from this Eastern Palace suite starting June 1st!  And if you just can’t wait, we’d love to have you join our Fun n’ Crafty team!  Order your starter kit and you can get this bundle, plus $21.50 in product more for less than the price of the bundle alone!  You’ll be able to order it today and then consider joining us on our blog hop next month. 🙂

    In the meantime, keep the inspiration going by checking out Christine’s projects next!

    Fun N Crafty Blog Hop - Visit Previous Blog
    Fun N Crafty Blog Hop - Visit Next Blog

    1. Christine Szekeres – Artful Musings
    2. Merit Brown – MB Squared Designs
    3. Pamela Wu – Stinky Tofu
    4. Susan Schultz – Stampin’ by the SF Bay
    5. Stacey Lane – A Work of Carte
    6. Jennifer Blomquist – Northwest Stamper <– YOU ARE HERE

    NWstamper signature_thumb[9]

    order online button for sig 3_thumb[4]

     

  • Water Drop Bokeh Technique Card with Everything Eleanor (VIDEO TUTORIAL)

    Did you see? Did you see??  Today is another video this week! Smile  I’m planning on getting back into videos and tutorials again and aim to have a new video project for you each Wednesday.  Sweet, right?!

    Today I wanted to share with you this cool technique I’m calling Water Drop Bokeh!  Check it out:

    See that colored blobby area?  It is just masked and sponged area of the Whisper White cardbase!  So it is easy and perfectly customizable to any project you want!

    Tips for making this card:

    • Use your Grid Paper to help make sure you are masking off straight and even lines across your white card base (in this case they are at 1” from the top and 2 1/4” from the top)
    • Sponge Daubers will give you rich color which helps make the technique turn out better because concentration of ink on your paper is key!
    • Swirl on your favorite colors of dye-based ink (all Stampin’ Up Classic Ink pads are dye based) on Whisper White cardstock
    • Use an Aqua Painter to drop bits of water onto your sponged area – from just the tip of the Aqua Painter for small circles to squeezing out full drops for bigger circles
    • Let it start to air dry and then you can stamp over the top almost immediately to create cool, layered effects.
    • Mix and match your stamp sets, like in this case Everything Eleanor for the bird and swirl, and A Dozen Thoughts for the sentiments
    • Each card you make will be different, but that is what makes it fun!

    Want to see how it is done?  Check out this Video Tutorial as I walk you through making the full card step by step.  Then, let me know what you think and if you like this style of video so I know what to do more of. Smile 

     

    (If you are viewing this in email, check out the video here)

    Quick Links:


    NWstamper signature_thumb[9]

    order online button for sig 3_thumb[4]

    Project Supplies Used:

  • Enjoying Spring with Sheltering Tree

    Enjoying Spring with Sheltering Tree

    Are you in love with Sheltering Tree?  This was the surprise favorite from the Occasions Catalog this year and I love how versatile it is.  So I thought I’d share one of the cards we did for Stamp Club recently:

    The stamp set is photopolymer (that completely clear stamps) so it makes it really easy to perfectly layer the stamp images.  And then you can even mix up your colors and designs like some of the ladies did here:

    2015-03-12 23.15.40

    And I thought I had gotten pictures of some of the other images – like the pink trees for Cherry Blossoms like we have all over up here in Washington.

    Tips for making this card:

    • When you stamp your trees, I always start with the trunk, then add your elements.  Use the big dotted stamp to make your base leaves
      – green for spring
      – pink for cherry blossoms
      – yellow/orange for fall
    • Add accent flowers or leave color variations by using the little dots stamp (see below with the red arrow pointing to it)
      image
      T       echnically, those little dots are perfectly aligned to be flower heads on top of the little grass stems… but its all about versatility!
    • When stamping your bike, stamp the tires/handlebar image first.  Then grab that little triangle bar stamps for the frame and add those in!  Or as it has been known in class – the kite or the tent!
    • In this card, I loved the Sweet Dreams designer buttons from the Occasions catalog.  Especially the Lost Lagoon one with the stitching!  It went perfect with my paper piercing around the edge of the card.
    • And if you want your paper piercing to be perfect – use the Essentials Piercing pack!  One of the templates gives you perfect rows, so you can line up the edge of your template with the edge of your paper and get perfect spacing everytime.

    • Add a little Hello Honey sponging around the sentiment for a touch of sunlight to your card.

    Sweet, Simple, and Done!

    NWstamper signature_thumb[9]

    order online button for sig 3_thumb[4]

    Project Supplies Used:
    Easy shopping anytime!  Click the images below to see the item in the online store.

  • Cheery Thinking of You with Petite Petals Flowers

    Cheery Thinking of You with Petite Petals Flowers

    Whew!  I’m back to the land of the living!

    I went to bed last Thursday night thinking of all my plans of what I was going to finish and get caught up on on Friday (aka Valentine’s Day).  Instead, I woke up in the early hours of the morning with a terrible stomach bug!  So, instead I spent the day in bed with a brief period laying on the couch.  Finally I am back to functional again (though now my husband has gotten taken out) and I’m trying to get caught back up. Smile 

    Today’s card was the perfect share today because of the number of people I heard of that were sick recently as well as a sweet friend who just had to suffer a devastating loss.  So, for all of them and for you, here is a card to send a little sunshine your way.

    This card was inspired by a card by Natasha Zandbergen that I had found on Pinterest and of course had to give it my own flair!  So, I loved the idea of cutting out the oval shape from the Oval Framelits and stamping my sentiment from the super fabulous Perfect Pennants stamp set for the focal piece…. and then I started getting a little creative.

    First – I embossed my front layer with the Decorative Dots embossing folder from the Sale-a-Bration brochure.  Then I decided to be a little odd and I sanded the the dots that were embossed.  It is a really subtle thing, but I wanted to soften the dots and give them a bit of texture.  See, when you sand your embossed elements, even if you don’t use core-dinations cardstock, it gives the raised part a bit of a velvety look.

    Then, I wanted to play with the new Petite Petals stamp set.  So I got to stamping.

    Psst – here is a little secret.  If you look at those flowers and wonder why they aren’t punched out very crisply, that is because I was borrowing this stamp set from my mom and she had forgotten to loan me the punch.  I wanted to have the flowers cut out, so I hand cut them.  They look much nicer when you use the punch!

    It still needed something though, and I played with all different options for breaking the So Saffron yellow color up along the bottom of the card and ended up settling on the Natural Chevron Trim as that extra piece. 

    Plus I thought that the chevron looked like arrows for a conveyor belt shuttling along those good thoughts to the card recipient. Winking smile  I know totally dorky… but hi! *waving* I’m a dork!  hee hee

    So, hope you are healthy and having a wonderful weekend at your home!  Until next time!

    spaced shop now sig bar

    Virtual Stamp Club Hostess Code – BNDDMDVU
    Use this code to get free exclusive tutorials & project kit! Learn more

    Stampin’ Up! Supplies Used
    Stamps – Perfect Pennants, Petite Petals
    Ink – Basic Black, Raspberry Ripple, So Saffron, Soft Sky
    Paper – Whisper White, So Saffron
    Accessories – Big Shot, Oval Framelits, Decorative Dots embossing folder (FREE with a $50 order) Petite Petals punch, Naturals Chevron ribbon, Sanding Block, Rhinestones

  • Gray and Yellow Colors Make Elegant Cards

    I needed a quick card recently and I felt like I was getting into a rut with the layouts I had been designing so I started flipping through my designer paper and tried to find a design that called to me.  In the end, I decided to play with the Eastern Elegance designer paper.

    I love this sentiment from the Perfect Pennants stamp set. Isn’t it so true?

    “Life Doesn’t Have To Be Perfect To Be Wonderful”

    The layout turned out super simple – and quick to make again with different colors and paper patterns – but it is nice to let the pattern from the paper do a lot of the work and be the perfect tone for whomever you are sending the card to.

    Card Supplies Used

    Stamps – Perfect Pennants
    Ink – Basic Grey, Summer Starfruit
    Paper – Whisper White cs, Smokey Slate cs, Eastern Elegance designer paper
    Accessories – Sponge Dauber, Crushed Curry chevron ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals

     

    Now I need to go try out this layout again with different paper and see how it turns out! Smile 

     

    spaced shop now sig bar

  • Too Kind – A Clean and Simple Card with Vellum

    It’s been a crazy few days around our house here in freezing cold Washington… surprizingly it has been actually hanging out in below freezing temperatures here (normally we are cold but not this cold!) My stamping and blogging time has been put on hold a little bit as we’ve celebrated my daughter’s 2nd birthday this weekend as well as dealing with serious health issues with our oldest cat.  But, I wanted to stop on by and share another card from my recent vellum class.

    This is one of the simplest ways to use vellum and it is a great way to add an elegant touch to your cards.  In this case, I stamped the flowers from the Too Kind stamp set and kept the card pretty simple so the flowers would really be the main focal point.  But when I wanted to add the sentiment (also from the same set) I wanted it to fit in with the feeling of the card… so vellum to the rescue!

    I stamped my sentiment directly onto the vellum and held it in place with Silver Mini Brads so that it wouldn’t go sliding anywhere.

    It is a great way to add a fun touch without adding a heavy layer to your card.  You should definitely give it a try!

    Don’t Miss the Deals!

    Just in case you thought you missed it, there are still tons of great deals on the Clearance Rack as part of the Clearance Rack Blitz.  The items are while supplies last so don’t delay in checking it out and grabbing your favorites before they are gone.  Plus, while you are there, check out this week’s Weekly Deals to save even more.

    Alright, time to tend to the kitty… have fun stamping and I’ll be back tomorrow with more!

    spaced shop now sig bar

  • Make 20 Cards in a Snap with the Everyday Occasions Kit

    Have you been wishing you had a fast way to create a pile of handmade cards to have on hand that you’d be proud to send out?  And do it without breaking the bank too!  If so, you should check out this new Everyday Occasions kit! 

    When we were at Founder’s Circle last week, they told us that these kits were finally going to be releasing this week.  They are meant to be a great introduction to someone who has never stamped before; but I have to say after looking at the cards, that it looks like fun to me!  Like this love card, how fun is it?!

    Since this is meant for the new stamper, all the elements are precut and pre-punched so it makes it quick and easy to assemble.  The kit comes with a 7 piece stamp set that enables you to make a ton of different types of cards including:

    • Happy Birthday
    • Thank You
    • Congratulations
    • For You
    • Love
    • Thinking of You

    Wanna see them?  Check it out!

    I know, cute…. right?  And I love that they can be used for girls or guys!

    The best part? Its only $29.95… so that is less than $2 a card!  Plus you have ink and a stamp set you can use later.  Way better than getting a card in the store!

    Want to see what you get for that?  Here is the scoop –

    image

    View the full Everyday Occasions flyer with pictures of all the card samples

    This may not be available through the online store, so if you are interested in purchasing a kit, please email me at jennifer@nwstamper.com and I will get back to you right away to get you all set up with a kit!

     

    Well, I’m off to work on holiday card samples for my 12 weeks of Christmas newsletter (get on the list now) and upcoming Holiday Card Stamp-a-Stacks.  I’ll be back tomorrow with some fun projects to share!

     

    spaced shop now sig bar

  • Cozy Comfort Café Thinking of You

    I wanted to share with you another card idea that I received as a swap and just loved.  Sure, there isn’t a rhyme or reason specifically for showing off this card other than I thought the colors and the Comfort Café designer series paper felt fitting for a Thanksgiving Week blog post. 🙂

    I often get in a hurry when I’m putting together a card at home and don’t always do a lot of matting of my paper pieces… and then I see a card like this and I am reminded why matting your paper can really be that added touch that makes your card look pulled together!

    Don’t you agree?

    card designed by Lisa Pruett

    I also really like the combination of the Boho Blossom punch and the Floral Fusion sizzlet to make the cool flower on the left side of the banner.

    Anyway, this is why I love swaps, it is a great way to see beautiful art and get great ideas that you would never have come up with on your own!

    I hope you saw something in this card too that gave you a new idea or motivation to use in your cards.

     

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

    Its INK-REDIBLE November!
    Get a FREE set of 10 ink pads with a qualifying order or party; or get them free when you join the Stampin’ Up! family! Learn more

    2012 Stampin' Up! Online Extravaganza

    Don’t miss stamps and accessories at up to 50% off!  Now through November 28th.
    SHOP NOW!

  • Halloween Colors but not a Halloween Card

    This afternoon, I finally got to have some quality time with Photoshop on my computer and finished editing a bunch of project photos to share here on my blog.  However, when the time came to pick what to share with you tonight, I kept gravitating towards Christmas cards, and while I can’t wait to share more holiday ideas with you, I just wanted to give Halloween and pretty fall colors their time too.  🙂

    So I thought I would share this card I received as a swap at convention that I just loved.  I thought it was so pretty and a great way to show that a few simple punches and some tied ribbon can make a big impression.

     

    I don’t know who the designer was of this card since there is no name or contact info on it (though if you do know, please let me know so I can give proper credit!) but whoever you are, thanks for the great inspiration!

    All the butterflies are from the Papillion Potpourri stamp set and the main butterfly was punched using the new butterfly punch.  Yes, I know what is going on my Christmas and Birthday wish list!  I just love the versatility I see in this stamp set and punch.  Does anyone really miss the old butterfly punch?  🙂

    Anyway, hope you enjoyed this non-Christmas inspiration.  I’ll be back again with more Christmas cards soon!

    PS – Ready for the new Stampin’ Trimmer?

    I just want to make sure everyone had heard… Stampin’ Up! is finally ready with their new and very improved paper trimmer.  It is available for demonstrators to preorder now and will be available for all orders starting in November.  So get your wish lists ready!

    If you have any questions about the trimmer and why it is so awesome, let me know and I can fill you in.  I got to play with one at Convention and have been impatiently waiting ever since :).

     

    Shop for Stamps and More Online, click here!

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

    Papillion Potpourri Orange and Black Card Recipe
    Stamps:     Teeny Tiny Wishes, Papillion Potpourri
    Ink: Tangerine Tango, Basic Black
    Paper: Basic Black, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White
    Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Basic Black Scallop dotted ribbon, Tangerine Tango 1/8” taffeta ribbon, 1-3/8” circle punch, butterfly punch, scallop circle punch, word window punch, modern label punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals, basic rhinestones

  • Orchard Harvest Thinking of You Card

    Orchard Harvest was one of those designer papers that I loved as soon as I saw it in the catalog and so I had to get some.  But then my fear of using things up kicked in and I just looked at it and couldn’t bring myself to cut it up.

    Well… as I look at my box of retired designer papers that I also couldn’t bear to use up… I am trying to get better and actually enjoy the papers and share them with others. 🙂  So, here is the first step – a fun fall card!

     

    I tried to mix up a few textures and dimension with this card.  We have the patterned paper, embossed Lucky Limeade paper using the Stripes embossing folder, some Stitched Satin ribbon, and then the smallest sized Labels framelit for the sentiment.

    I have to admit though, my favorite thing about this card is that I used the colors that were found in the Orchard Harvest paper to pick the other elements of the card.  And so because of that, I discovered that More Mustard and Raspberry Ripple can actually go together!  I would never have thought those colors could go together but they totally do!

     

    Shop for Stamps and More Online, click here!

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

    Orchard Harvest Card Recipe
    Stamps:     Teeny Tiny Wishes
    Ink: Early Espresso, More Mustard
    Paper: More Mustard, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White, Orchard Harvest dsp
    Accessories: Big Shot, Labels Framelit, Stripes embossing folder, Sponge Daubers, Basic Rhinestones, Stitched Satin Ribbon (Raspberry Ripple), Stampin’ Dimensionals

  • Summer Afternoon with Watercolor Pencils

    Each month the gals in my team of Fun n Crafty demos participate in a card swap where we each create a card for one of the other folks on the team.  It’s a lot of fun to see the different styles from everyone and to take time out to create a card for a specific person each month.

    This was the card I made for Bethani recently.  This hostess stamp set – Summer Afternoon, made me think of her, and the image just begged me to color it in!  So, I grabbed my trusty watercolor pencils and got to work.

    Summer Afternoon colored swap card

     

    I kept the colors more subtle and then added pops of color with my cardstock and ribbon.  I grabbed some Calypso Coral and Daffodil Delight cardstock for my bright colors and then matched the strip of Daffodil Delight cardstock with a piece of Daffodil Delight stitched grosgain ribbon to add some texture to the card.

    Summer Afternoon colored swap card close up

     

    I hope she enjoyed the card and I loved seeing her change it up and use this similar layout for a class she held recently.  (If you are in the Mountain View area of California and looking for card making classes, she has some great ones!)

    And if you have been thinking about joining Stampin’ Up!, we’d love to have you join our group and our monthly card swap!  You can learn more about all the benefits and stay tuned for more details on a cute project kit that you can get FREE when you sign up in August!

     

    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!

  • Pretty Papillion Potpourri

    I recently had someone request that I put together a class for her and some friends based around a few cards she had seen online.  Unfortunately, one of the cards used the old Strength and Hope stamp set that retired last year and I had never purchased.  So, I set to trying to come up with a fun, similar card using the new Papillion Potpourri stamp set and matching Elegant Butterfly punch.

    Stampin-Up-Butterfly-Card

     

    This was my first time using this stamp set and punch and I was pleasantly surprised at how versatile I found the images to be. For some reason, I didn’t expect the differences in style you get from the different butterflies in the set.  Anywho… aren’t these butterflies so pretty?

    Papillon Potpourri Clear-Mount Stamp Set

    One tip that I learned when stamping and punching the center butterflies – the punch is just slightly smaller than your stamped image.  Often the punch is a teensy bit bigger than your image but not in this case.  It didn’t impact my final punched out image, but caught me offguard when I was trying to line up my stamped image on my paper with the punch outline.  So, I thought I would share.

    I spent so long working on this card one night – tweaking this and that – that in the end I wasn’t sure I liked it.  But now that I’ve had some space, I like it more. 🙂 Would this be a card you would want to do in a class or workshop?

    Well, I’m off to make more samples and get my July and August classes up on the calendar!

     

    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!

     

    Papillion Potpourri Thinking of You Card Recipe
    Stamps:     Papillion Potpourri, Curly Cute
    Ink: Versamark, Basic Black, Daffodil Delight, Daffodil Delight marker, Wisteria Wonder marker, Calypso Coral marker
    Paper: Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White, Calypso Coral
    Accessories: Elegant Butterfly punch, Calypso Coral ruffled ribbon, sponge daubers, stampin’ dimensionals, basic rhinestones