Stamp with Annette

A short conversation...

I had a short conversation with my husband a couple of days ago. It went like this:

me: I think grandmas should be relieved of their responsibilities, so they can just sit and hold babies.

Jeff: huh

End of conversation. I guess that means he thinks I should do something besides sit and hold our new little someone.

 
This is a super quick and easy page that I created to take to preschool with me on the first school day after Zoey arrived. It was so quick and easy that I did it that morning. Well, except for the flower, because I ran out of time. Because I couldn't make up my mind. But then I knew what I wanted, and it only took about five minutes when I got back to it.

I used the Flower Folds die with Pretty in Pink and Chocolate Chip card stocks. Then I ran them back through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. Circle punches, a clear button, patterned paper, and white taffeta ribbon finished it off.

I'm going to blame Zoey for my getting so little done lately. She likes to snuggle, so what else is a new grandma gonna do?!

Wishing you time with a sweet baby!

Annette

A Card & A Page

Jeff and I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary last month. That is so hard to believe! It sure doesn't seem like it has been that long. I had been thinking about making him a card, but hadn't come up with a good idea. Then on the actual day, this silly song came into my head, and I decided to run with it. My husband has been a fan of the comedian Heywood Banks for a long time. One of the songs that he sings is called "The One I Love." (click to hear it on YouTube) So I ordered the CD and made this card:

If you listen to the song, the card will make more sense. :-) But he loved it - especially since he knew he had a CD coming. The card came together with lots of punches: heart to heart, my way, word window, scallop circle, round tab, 1" circle 1/2" circle, and the Coluzzle.

We went to dinner the Saturday after our anniversary with two other couples with the same anniversary. Here is the page I did with pics from that night:

 

It's a very simple layout, but I was pleased with the result. I used Basic Black and Real Red because those were the colors in the restaurant's logo. I printed the online menu on photo paper and cut out the logo for the accent on the bottom left. I used a journaling marker to write the numbers on the silver jumbo brads and embossed with clear powder. The brads show how long each couple has been married. When you pull on the ribbon, you see the journaling with a little explanation and our names. I titled it "Club 28" as all of our anniversaries are on May 28. Oh, and I created the title and journaling on my computer. This gives you an idea what the journaling looks like:

 

Off to finish preparing for stamp club!

Happy stamping, everyone!

Annette

Cutter Kit - Cutting Tool

I really didn't forget about my promise to show you how to get good use out of your Cutter Kit. This summer has just been a little crazy. When I was at convention, my friend Karen was kind enough to give me one of her 6X6 pages that she had made to swap - even though I didn't get any swaps made to be able to trade her one! I think the first thing I said was, "Can I post this on my blog?!" One, it's a very nice page. I love the colors and the Designer Series Paper that she used. Two, I immediately thought of my promise to you all about Cutter Kit instructions! Here is Karen's page:

She used the new Dreams du Jour stamp set, Pink Piroutte, Riding Hood Red, and Whisper White card stock, Riding Hood Red Classic ink, Bella Rose Designer Series Papers, Scallop Edge and Trio Flower punches, 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain, and the Cutter Kit.

The Cutter Kit was used to make the wavy strips of paper. I love the way Karen overlapped several strips and then accented them with the flower punches. Here is how she made the strips:
You will need the Cutter Kit (of course), a self healing mat, and a piece of Designer Series Paper or card stock. The paper is easier to work with since it isn't as thick. If you choose to work with card stock, just apply more pressure as you roll the cutter.

Holding the cutting blade straight up and down, simply press it into the paper and roll it along. If the cutting blade is at an angle, it will not work as well. This is a free-form deal; don't worry about being exact. You will achieve smoother cuts if you roll quickly rather than trying to go slowly and get it just so.

Cut lots of strips and layer/weave them together as Karen did, or just use one as an accent. Either way, have fun!

The Progression

When looking for a project for stamp club the other day, I saw a card somewhere that someone (if it was you, let me know!) had created using the design and colors from the 8 1/2 X 8 1/2 scrapbook page that was one of our make-n-takes at convention. I love taking a template for one project and creating another so decided this would be great for stamp club. It might help us all to look at our projects a little differently; we can turn cards into scrapbook pages and vice versa. So, here is what I started with:
Love this page! I just need to find a photo to go on it.

Here is the card I did for stamp club:
Same colors, same basic elements laid out in pretty much the same way.

When I went to create my spiral pop-up card, I needed a card with a landscape orientation, so I flipped the design, and came up with this:

Designing projects can seem so overwhelming! Next time, just take a look around you, find a template you like (from a card, a scrapbook page, an advertisement, the list goes on!) and adapt it to whatever you are working on!

Inspired Workshop Projects

Where do you go for inspiration? Some websites and blogs have sketch challenges, and those can be fun. In my May newsletter, I showed you how some wrapping paper inspired Will's birthday card. Sometimes when I need something in a hurry, I will copy an idea I saw somewhere. When I was preparing for Jennifer's workshop earlier this week, I needed some ideas in a hurry. So I turned to my Stampin' Success (the wonderful magazine Stampin' Up! sends its demonstrators each month) and my Spring-Summer Collection (i.e. my catalog!).

This idea came from Stampin' Success. I love the simplicity of this card! I changed a couple of things from the picture in my magazine to fit the supplies that I had on hand. I used the Warm Words stamp set, Whisper White, Purely Pomegranate, Taken with Teal, Chocolate Chip, and Green Galore card stocks, Chocolate Chip Classic ink, the 1" circle and Three for You punches, a silver brad, and Dimensionals.

This 3X3 card came straight from the catalog, page 123. And the same template made a wonderful 6X6 scrapbook page! The picture shows two of my great-nephews. I think Jake likes his new baby brother, Weston! These two projects used the Seeing Spots and Warm Words sets, Spot On jumbo wheel, VersaMark, Groovy Guava, and Always Artichoke ink, Always Artichoke, Kraft, and Whisper White card stocks, caramel gingham and Chocolate Chip twill ribbons.

It's fun sometimes to sit down and create, coming up with completely original ideas. If you're like me, though, this is a very time consuming process. So don't feel like you always have to come up with your own ideas! Stampin' Up! provides wonderful project ideas on their website and in the catalogs. And you can always come here for ideas. Hope you were inspired today.

Happy stamping!

Enjoyin' Free Wheelin'

This month Stampin' Up! is offering the Free Wheelin' special. If you purchase one of six stamp sets, you get the coordinating wheel for free! And actually, you could purchase them all if you wanted as there is no limit! I have been playing with the Enjoy Every Moment set and the coordinating Daisy Dash jumbo wheel.

At Jessica's workshop this last weekend, we did this 3X6 card as one of our make-n-takes:

I couldn't seem to get my camera to capture the colors very well, but I used Lovely Lilac and Almost Amethyst. The focal point is stamped on Whisper White with Lovely Lilac ink. I used the white gel pen to fill in the centers of the flowers on the background.

I also showed them how they could use the same products to create a scrapbook page:

This is a 6X6 page that would make a great element on a larger page. I used the same stamps and colors and just added a little Hodgepodge Hardware.

Our second make-n-take was this little 3X3 card:

I used the She's All That set from the Occasions Mini Collection. I am loving this set! The colors are Blush Blossom and Chocolate Chip. I rarely use Blush Blossom, but I love this combination. We also used: Chocolate Chip Poly Twill Ribbon, the 1 3/8" square punch to punch out the image, the corner rounder to create the scallop border, and the Crop-a-Dile to dry emboss circles on each scallop.

Happy stamping, everyone!

E is for Emily

I have one last project that I shared during my Monogram Alphabet presentation:

This is a file folder album that I created using some of Emily's senior pictures. (Yes, I know they are a couple of years old, but better late than never. :-) ) My sister showed me this pattern when I was at her house, and I knew I needed to make one! For the folding instructions, click here. The polkadot background is from the Close to Cocoa Prints Designer Series Papers. The little pink flowers were punched with the Three for You punch. I stamped the "e" with Close to Cocoa ink, filled it in with Crystal Effects, and then used the Pink Bead Duos. All of the rub-ons on this project are from the Eastern Elegance package. I did direct to paper with the Close to Cocoa pad all over the file folder.

This is what is looks like inside.

And here are the tags when you take them out of the pockets. Creating this was an all day project, but I was very pleased with the results. Especially when it got rave reviews at my presentation. :-)

This is what I used: Monogram Alphabet Lower e, Polka Dots and Petals stamp set, Pretty in Pink and Close to Cocoa card stocks, Close to Cocoa Designer Series Paper, Hostess Level 1 Prints Pack, Close to Cocoa Classic and VersaMark inks, stampin' sponge, white gel pen, Eastern Elegance Rub-Ons, silver brads, white embossing powder, wide Chocolate grosgrain, pink gingham, slot, three for you, scallop circle, designer label, large oval, 5-petal flower, and 1 1/4" circle punches, Bead Duos Pink, Crystal Effects, Dimensionals and Sticky Strip.

Amazing Alliteration Application

OK, so maybe it's not that amazing, but at least I caught your attention. :-) I love using alliteration. (using words that have the same beginning sound) When I did my Monogram Alphabet presentation last Saturday, I wanted to include something that would show this use of the letters. Here is my page:

I had trouble getting a good photo, so I hope you can see it well enough. I embossed the "f" with black embossing powder and cut it out. I stamped the black grosgrain with white polkadots and tied it around my letter before attaching it to the page with Dimensionals. I used the Schoolbook Serif Alphabet to finish the words (embossed also). The two alphabets coordinate beautifully! I love how SU! does that for us. The background is stamped with the So Much set. We received this set at the regional in Tulsa, and I am really loving the backgrounds it creates! The white polkadots on the black card stock were done with the white gel pen. The journaling (I'm sorry it's so hard to see!) was done with the font cd and Microsoft Publisher, printed on acetate, embossed with black embossing powder, cut out with the Coluzzle, and attached with my Xyron.

(So Much, Schoolbook Serif, and Sweet Shapes sets, Monogram f, Basic Black and Whsiper White Craft inks, Real Red and Basic Black card stocks, acetate, black embossing powder, font cd, white gel pen, black grosgrain, 1 1/4" square punch)

Happy stamping!

Monogram Alphabet

I did a short presentation this past Saturday at Sharon Armstrong's downline meeting. I have been so blessed to be able to attend her meetings since moving to Texas! She was wanting a demonstration that showed the Monogram Alphabet Lower (pg. 154 in the Spring-Summer Collection) with scrapbooking. I actually repeated my demo seven times to small groups of ladies. It's much easier for everyone to see when the group is small - and the demonstrator doesn't get as nervous! Here are a couple of pages that I prepared:

This page shows Sharon doing her wow presentation at the Tulsa Regional Seminar. (Regionals are mini conventions that SU! puts on for demonstrators.) On this page, I stamped the "W" in Always Artichoke Craft ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. I paired the w's with round images from the So Much set to spell "wow." The exclamation point is a petal and flower center from the Pick A Petal set. Sharon was surprised to see herself on my page! I sent this page home with her at the end of the day.

(So Much  & Pick a Petal sets, Monogram W, Close to Cocoa, So Saffron, and Always Artichoke card stocks, Always Artichoke Craft ink, Close to Cocoa Classic ink, rhinestone brads from the Pretties Kit, font cd, Crop-a-dile, clear embossing powder)

This is another page using the "W." Since the letters are so big, I decided I wanted to put my title right on the "W." I used my computer and SU!'s font cd to print "the wonder of winter" on Whisper White card stock. Then I used the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to position the "W" directly over the words, stamped with VersaMark ink, and embossed with Iridescent Ice embossing powder. I cut out the "W" and tied white taffeta around it. The words to the right say:

A Texas Snowstorm

giant snowflakes...

mild temperatures...

no accumulation on the pavement...

gone by the afternoon...

The perfect snow.

This girl who's lived most of her life in Iowa and Kansas likes the Texas kind of snow! I took these pictures at the park down the street from our house on March 4.

(The Snowflake Spot set, Monogram W, Bordering Blue, Whisper White and Vellum card stocks, VersaMark ink, Iridescent Ice embossing powder, Whisper White taffeta, font cd)

I bought the "W" because I have William and thought I would use it to do some pages of him. When I got my letters and started brainstorming words to go with them, I came up with so many other ways to use my them! Now to just find some time to create...

Just Soccer

When I was looking for pictures to scrapbook, I found some shots from when we went to a couple of Kansas City Wizards games (compliments of Shon & Arla, who gave us their tickets). I decided to put both games on one spread. The first game was right about the 4th of July, so after the game there was a spectacular fireworks display. The second game was late August. Jeff was already in Plano, so it was me with three boys. It stormed all day before the game, so most people just stayed home. The stadium was almost empty. We could hear the players talking to each other on the field! It also meant that I gave the boys a lot more freedom than I would have if the stadium had been full of people. They changed seats several times and walked around the concourse some. They had a great time! Alex wore his spiky hat to the game, and Will and Grayson each took a turn with it. The camera caught Alex with it on, and put him on the megatron for awhile. Alex, of course, hammed it up. :-) OK, enough of that. You don't come here to listen to me tell stories (scrapbook pages just bring them out of me!).

I used the Just Soccer stamp set, Brilliant Blue, Basic Black, and Whisper White card stocks, Basic Black Craft ink, black embossing powder, Basic Black Journaler, and the Coluzzle.

Happy stamping & scrapping!