When I first set eyes on the Paradise stamp set when the Stampin’ Up! Idea Book and Catalog came out in July, I exclaimed with delight! Fun tropical sets for us Floridians are hard to find and this one fit the bill BIG TIME!! After I began using it in my classes and workshops, many of my customers have said that they hadn’t given the set a second thought. BLASPHEMY I SAY! But, aahhh…I have changed their minds. Lookie:

I came up with these beauties when I thought it would be cool to offer up a set of cards as an Emergency Card kit gift in these Olive Cigar Boxes I’d purchased 4 years ago and never used. Most of the customers made the kit as a gift for THEMSELVES! They are refusing to give them away, ha ha ha! Here’s what the decorated cigar box looks like (I kept it simple so it wouldn’t take forever to make all 6 cards and the box and their coordinating envelopes and tissue):

As you can see, all the cards and cigar box have a consistent design because I just stamped a piece of Vanilla Card stock randomly with all the leaves in either Old Olive, More Mustard and Elegant Eggplant. I added burnished color with the Certainly Celery ink and a stamping sponge quarter. I then cut the pieces according to a grid I created so we could have 6 pieces for the cards and a big piece for the box. ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS in person!

Here’s the box open with the stamped tissue lining which made it feel even more special:

Want to see each of the cards close up?
Sure you do! 

Used the Rock and Roll technique on one of the leaves if you’re wondering!

Nice pocket card, aye?

I sold out of all my Cigar Boxes (had 10 of them and I’m wishing I had more to make some gifts of my own. Someone special’s going to get this one.

Well, gonna go and finish reading the last book of the Twilight series. Ahhh….I’m obsessed! ) TAH!

 Light up your holidays with this simple but elegant project. And I think the dazzle of this project comes from two things:

1) The beautiful Rich Razzleberry ink and coordinating ribbon

2) The Dazzling Diamonds glitter on the dove.

If you haven’t ever stamped on candles OR just haven’t done it in a long time–you’re gonna get addicted again. Especially when you can create an elegant gift for peanuts in these tough economic times.

All I did was take a 3" pillar candle from Walmart (a little over a buck), stamp in Rich Razzleberry ink on tissue with this lovely stamp from the Gifts of Christmas stamp set. Cut out the image and lightly glue it to the candle with a glue pen. Slowly (and I mean SLOOOWWWLLLLYYY!) heat up the image on the candle with a heat gun until it starts to "sweat" or "glisten" as the wax starts to melt. The tissue will soak up the SLOW melting wax and disappear like MAGIC! Once you see all the tissue disappear–you are DONE! Wrap a coordinating ribbon (I used the reverse side of the Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot ribbon) and add some glitter and you are done in less than 15 minutes!

Hope you’re able to get to some homemade holiday gifts this year! I know I’ll be making some more of these. I think our awesome regular server at our local Friday’s Restaurant will be getting this one! )

Ahh…the Saturday house vacuuming and class set up for this afternoon is calling my name. Thanks for stopping by! Taa!

I know, I know…this is the 2nd post in a row with leaves.

But you gotta understand–this is the only way I’ll ever see Fall! When you’ve grown up your entire life in the beautiful Sunshine State of Florida, the changing of the leaves is a novelty…something you see in postcards or when you go on a Fall vacation.

So indulge me!

This card features another technique from my Oct. Technique Freaks class called Water Color Resist. Don’t you just love how these colors go together. It’s because these colors are in that beautiful Autumn Meadows Designer Series paper. Stunning…I tell you! I would have never put Taken with Teal in a Fall color combo but it sure makes you go WOW!, doesn’t it? Stampin’ Up! just makes creating beautiful things so EASY! 

Of course, they are no dummy–they also developed the gorgeous Autumn Splendor stamp set to go with the paper. Or was it the paper to go with the stamp set? Ahh…who cares? It’s just plain yummy!

Okay, okay–I’ll get to the technique–geesh! You don’t have to nag.

Here, I just stamped and embossed the leaves with black pigment ink and black embossing powder on watercolor paper. Then, I just picked up drops of Taken with Teal, Dusty Durango, More Mustard and Ruby Red re-inkers with my Aquapainter and randomly distributed the colors on the water color paper to create this montage. In some areas I used more water than others–almost creating a wash.

I personally think that this stamp set is one of the best SU! has produced in the 10 1/2  years I’ve been a demonstrator. And believe me, I’ve owned every one! ) (The novelty of Fall–remember?) Check it out:

116503 Autumn Splendor $20.95

116769 Autumn Meadows Designer paper $9.95 – 12 sheets: 2 ea. of 6 double-sided designs 12×12

Well, gotta run. Gonna go have some fun at a morning workshop and need to load up the goods! Don’t you wish you could come with me? I know you do!  Guess I gotta go have some f un without you! TA!

Man, I’m almost afraid to blink.

Why?

How the heck did it get to November already?

I’m afraid if I blink, it will be Christmas and I missed Thanksgiving already. My husband and I chatted about this very thing this morning. Where has this year gone is what we want to know. 

Anyway, this card is one that I did for my Technique Freaks last month (Oct.). Poppin’ Pastels is a technique I always bring out in the Fall because it makes creating beautiful multi-colored leaves SO EASY!

What? You don’t know how to do this cool technique!?

SUPPLIES

Falling Leaves stamp set

Versamark Pad

Sponge daubers

Stampin’ Pastels (Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie & Old Olive chalks)

Basic Black, Old Olive, Ruby Red and Very Vanilla card stock

Scallop Circle punch

1 3/8 and 1 1/4 Circle punches

Basic Black ink pad

EASY 1-2-3 Poppin’ Pastels technique:

1. Starting with a white or vanilla sheet of card stock, stamp your leaves with the Versamark ink.

2. Rub your sponge daubers in your chalk color of choice and begin daubing up and down on the Versamark stamped image. Wooooo…..magic. What was invisible in now visible!

3. With a new dauber, rub in a different color and repeat the up-and-down daubing motion. Repeat until all your leaves are multi-colored and you have the affect you desire!

Ta da!

This is not just a Thanksgiving set! Use it for any male oriented cards, thank yous, nature scrapbook pages, and so much more! Because it is a more solid set, you can just ink and go making anything you stamp very quick!! I love the fact that I can use it with so many different techniques and will look totally different (But I guess that’s with all SU! sets! ;O)  )  And, if I would have had room on the above card design, I would have used the coordinating Stampin’ Around wheel, Bright Blessings. Might just have to use it again soon!

 Well, gotta get on with my day. Just remember this advice around this time of year, don’t blink or you’ll miss it! Now go stamp something!

I am. Right now. Bye!

Woooooo—-it’s an optical illusion! ) No–not the retiring Doodle This stamp set! You know that really wild Pink Flamingo paper? Well, I had a heck of a time trying to figure out how to make that Designer Paper look less busy. For some reason I just couldn’t create anything that would maker a stronger focal point than the paper! )

But, that was until I tried the technique Altered Designer Paper. Oh..yea–I didn’t let that paper get the best of me, no sir! I just disguised it with a little white craft ink wash. If you look real close at the above, you can still see the flowers and swirls pattern under the white wash. SO, don’t throw out those papers that you don’t think you’ll EVER use. Now you can disguise it. (Kinda like putting concealer on that annoying zit on your face! ha ha ha!) Don’t know how I could pull off my monthly Technique Freaks class without the help of my Technique Junkies newsletter.

Anyway, take a stab at this technique and let me know what you think. A keeper?

Here’s another card from last week’s Technique Freaks class. It’s very simple and the girls loved it and so did I as I actually got to use some chipboard, Kiwi Kiss Ribbon and designer papers that are retiring! )

Here’s the scoop on this technique:

GLITTER STRIPES TECHNIQUES

(Scene in a Garden stamp set, Pacific Point Classic ink, Pacific Point and Whisper White card stock)

(Sense of Time stamp set, Bravo Burgundy Classic ink, Bravo Burgundy marker, Bravo Burgundy and Very Vanilla cardstock)

When I first read about these two techniques in the Technique Junkies newsletter, I got confused as I didn’t see much of a difference. However, when I physically sat down with stamps and ink and my hand and tried them, I got it!

Mono Masking is taking a mask and blocking off the center of the card (I used post it notes) You then stamp and sponge all around your mask in a monochromatic color scheme.

In Blocked Collage, you mask the middle (just like in Mono Masking) and stamp and sponge all around your mask (just like Mono Masking EXCEPT, you’ve also divided your card up into 4 similar stamped themed parts). Then, you take a coordinating marker and mark of "blocks" on your card which takes on a collage feel.

After posting these two technique cards, I think I’ve finally caught up with all the Technique cards you’ve been missing out on the last couple months when I wasn’t blogging as regular.  I just had last month’s Techniques class last week and promise to get those scanned and shared soon!

Also, stay tuned for the rest for my Manly Man cards (class is tomorrow) as well as the rest of my Just Beachy projects for that class scheduled next week! Lots to look forward to.

Now I’m off to help hubby with the dishes! TA!

Okay, enough of that punchy nonsense ) !! Here’s a card that was part of one my Technique Freaks classes a couple months ago.  I tell you, I’ve been using this set a lot since it came out in March! It’s an awesome greeting set that I will miss as it does not make the new catalog. I like to have the option of smaller type in this set and the greetings are different.

This technique is pretty cool, too. All I did, according to the instructions from the Technique Junkies newsletter, is take The Pink Passion and Only Orange Craft (pigment ink) spots and randomly swipe and squish them around on my cardstock piece. I then spritzed it with water and blended the inks to get this Two Toned Crunch background technique. In person, the black cardstock really pops the technique panel as well as the Pink Passion cardstock pieces.

Give this technique a try. There’s thousands of combinations!

You didn’t think I was going to leave you with just a picture of In Colors did you? With no eye candy? Ha! I’m on a roll and I don’t want to break this streak I’ve got going! Posting everyday since mid-May!

One of the Yahoo Groups I’m on, Late Night Stampers, issued an embossing challenge recently so I thought I’d dig up this sample I’d never posted from March’s Technique Freaks class. Isn’t that background just scream "Monet"!? Well, that’s what it reminds me of at least. It’s actually a technique called Watercolor Resist and fits that Soft Summer set so well! Here’s how to do the technique (as published in the  December/January Technique Junkies newsletter (http:www.patstamps.com  Sign up here for a great bi-monthly techniques newsletter FILLED with the latest ideas! I love it and it’s provides me with the ammo I need for my monthly techniques class):

WATERCOLOR RESIST TECHNIQUE

Supplies:
- Broad Surface Stamp
- VersaMark
- Clear or Colored Fine Embossing Powder
- Heat Tool
- Anti-Static Bag
- Watercolor Crayons
- Paper Towels
- White or Vanilla Cardstock

Step One:
Ink the stamp with VersaMark ink. Stamp image on cardstock.

Step Two:
Cover the image with embossing powder, remove excess and heat emboss.

Step Three:
Using a firm stroke, scribble several colors of watercolor crayons over and around the image. Color a good portion of the image area, leaving some white space for blending.

Step Four:
Lightly wipe the cardstock with a moist paper towel, moving and blending the color as you wipe. Wiping the paper towel in a single direction works best. Do not wipe in a back-and-forth motion. This avoids overblending or removing colors too much.

Step Five:
Finish card as desired.

Here’s the last share from my Techniques Class I had a couple weeks ago. And yes, I know, I know…I caught an edge! I’m just telling myself that I wanted that "Happy" word underlined! ) So there…get over it!

One of my favorite masculine oriented stamps Stampin’ Up! has ever come out with is the And Many Mower that is currently in our Occasions Mini catalog. You guys may wanna grab this one while you can because good masculine stamp sets with a little humor are tough to find. This one’s a keeper!

My favorite thing about this card is the white Jumbo Grommet "golf hole". ) It was the first time I’d used this product unveiled in the Occasions Mini. They are so pliable, you can set these things by bending the prongs back with your bone folder. You gotta get some and try ‘em. I promise you’re gonna LOVE ‘EM!  Now, onward to the Dragged Madras technique: