Stamping Intervention

Taking the week OFF...

Hello, there Stamping Intervention readers...

I apologize that I didn't post this before the weekend, but I wanted to let you all know that I'm going to be taking this upcoming week off. I'm going to be travelling over the holiday and will not have guaranteed access to the internet, so I'm out of commission while I'm away. There is no Wanna Play? Challenge this week, but if you'd like to send me something, I'd love to post it and give you a freebie entrance into the November drawing that'll happen upon my return.

I hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving...after all, we can all be thankful for something.

Enjoy and eat lots of turkey!

Paper Folding: Tom the Turkey

Last month in my Stampin' Success magazine (SU!'s monthly publication for demo's), I found an absolutely adorable little turkey they made all from our punches! I love him so much that I just have to share him with all of you! Here's a step by step on how to make him...

 

1. Punch a scallop circle using your Scallop Circle Punch.

 

 

 

2. Count five scallops and fold along that plane.

 

 

 

3. Flip it over and fold down the center, touching the scallop edges together with the fold from step two along the top. (Sorry, this was the best picture I could get and it was taken after the next step. For this step, ignore the two sides looking like they've been folded.)

 

4. Rotate it so that the scallops are facing north and your folded five scallops are still on the backside. (Now, they'll be on the bottom.)

Fold from the left side towards the center fold you made in step 3. Repeat from the right side.

5. Repeat steps 1-4 with three pieces of different color cardstock. Punch: Tom's body with the 1 3/8" Circle Punch, his head with the 3/4" Circle Punch, his hat with the Square Punch (you'll need your paper snips to cut two notches out of the sides), his buttons with the 1/4" Circle punch, his eyes with the 1/16" Circle Punch, and his nose just with paper snips and scraps. For his feet, I used the Scallop Square Punch, but you could also use the Scallop Circle Punch.

 

6. Feature Tom in an adorable "Thanks" card like the one I CASED from the Stampin' Success magazine OR try making him into great placecards for your Thanksgiving feast (which will undoubtedly feature Tom in a much more tasty way!).

Have fun!

Owen's Birthday Present

My little buddy from Maine, Owen, turned three earlier this month. (Kanaan, whose cards appear on the Wanna Play? Challenges, is Owen's mommy and one of my bestest friends ever!) Owen was having a Cars themed party, so I wanted to make him a very special card and wrapping paper with trucks and tractors on them. This is what I came up with...

I made this coordinating wrapping paper, gift bag, and card using the retired set, By Land. I stamped the tractor on plain white wrapping paper with Green Galore ink. Then, I used my markers to ink up the truck with Basic Black and Brilliant Blue. I added a stop sign in Real Red and street lines in Basic Black. Here's another picture of the card, up closer...

 

I used Brilliant Blue for my card base and stamped "beep" in the same color for a tone-on-tone effect. Then, I inked up my dump truck in the same way as the gift bag above. I used the Short Order Alphabet for Owen's name, stamping the letters in Basic Black on YoYo Yellow cardstock, and cutting each of them out to be put into the back of the dump truck. I mounted the truck onto Real Red cardstock with Stampin' Dimensionals. I stamped the sentiment, which is from Hugs and Wishes and mounted the Real Red onto the card base. Voila! A card for my sweet Owen.

I was very purposeful in my decision of using Bold Brights colors. The primary colors in that color family are perfect for children's cards and gifts and totally bring me back to kindergarten when I use them for children! (For more information on color choice, refer to  Quick Tip #2.)

Wanna Play? Challenge #6: Recycled Cards

  This is Raina's recycled card. This is what Raina said about it: "My sister gave me one of her quilting magazines, which is full of pictures of fabric samples. I cut out a bunch of little bits of samples to make the “quilt” on this card. The buttons were from a jar I have that’s full of odd extra buttons that come with new clothes, or old buttons that have fallen off old clothes, etc. I just found out I’m going to be a Great Auntie again, so this is a congratulations card to my nephew."

Raina, this card is unique and gorgeous! Way to think outside the box and re-use something beyond just putting it into the recycling bin.

 

This is Kanaan's recycled card. She used the left-over strips from her son's birthday invitations. She embossed the ladybug and "bug me anytime" sentiment in White embossing powder.

I love how whimsical this card is. It reminds me of Alice in Wonderland for some reason! Thanks for your card, K.

  This is my recycled card. As a demonstrator, I'm not supposed to use retired stamps or papers for anything that I'm demonstrating, like a workshop or class. So, I usually end up with lots of paper scraps and whole sheets of paper of the In Colors that never get used. The scraps I had would have probably just sat around, unused...I used Groovy Guava for my card base and Ginger Blossom DSP and River Rock for my pattern on top. My sentiment is from Edgy Eloquence, a stamp set that retired years ago and I haven't been able to let go of yet. I think the sayings are wonderful!

Wanna Play? Challenge #7 Small Somethings...

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, why not focus on the people you're thankful for? This week's challenge is to create a card for someone to express your appreciation for the small (or big) somethings they do for you. (For example, you could make a card for your mail carrier who is braving the cooler fall temperatures or your friend who babysat for you in a pinch.) It doesn't have to be Thanksgiving themed or contain fall colors. There's no real requirement other than it be a thank you card AND that you actually send/give the card to the person you created it for. Please email/snail mail your submissions to me no later than next Friday.

An Afternoon with the Star Bright Kit

I played with my new Star Bright kit this afternoon and I'm excited what I've found: A TODDLER-PROOF Christmas tree! All of the ornaments are made from the kit and I have a ton more pieces to make more stars and 3-D circle globes. I love that I had the option of making the globes as small or as big as I chose.

We have a little 3' tree that we'll be putting up again this year and the smallest of the globes and stars were perfect for decorating it. For the tree topper, I put two of the large stars together using sticky strip on the tips.

This is a basket that we usually have on our dinning room table. During fall, it had fake apples in it. I wanted to find something to put inside of it for the holidays and the paper strip globes were great too!

This is one of the 4 piece circle globes up close. Absolutely adorable!

A Call for Questions!!

You've got questions, and I've got answers (er...I hope I have them. Maybe, I'll try my best?)

Hit me with your best shot! Ask me questions about Stampin' Up! products and I'll search long and hard for an answer for you.

Place your questions in the "Comment" link below this post.

Anyone who TOTALLY stumps me with a Stampin' Up! product-based question will receive a handstamped gift from me. Valid through Dec. 5th.

Example: Why does my SNAIL not always fully leave a line of adhesive on my cardstock?

Answer: SNAIL (Stampin' Up!'s Simple, Neat, Affordable, In-Line adhesive) needs to be applied evenly. So, if you notice that you're not getting all of your adhesive onto your cardstock, it may be that you're shifting your wrist to one side (causing the applicator to not fully touch the cardstock) OR you may be moving the applicator too quickly (causing the adhesive to not fully come off the wheel on the inside).

See, it's that simple.

Wanna Play? Challenge #5: Autumn

  This is Kanaan's submission for the Autumn challenge. She used Really Rust, More Mustard, Old Olive, and Creamy Caramel for her cardstock and inks on the basket. For stamp sets, she used Here, Kitty Kitty and Give Thanks. I love the coloring of the leaves and the tone-on-tone with the leaves in the background.

Great work, K! Thanks so much!

 

Here's Raina's submission using the gorgeous color combination of Really Rust, Chocolate Chip and Close to Cocoa. The pumpkin is from Fall Whimsy. Great use of embellishments, Raina! Love how the ribbon leads your eye to the other side of the card where the sentiment is.

This is my card. I used textured Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Old Olive, and Watercolor paper. I used my inks and AquaPainter to watercolor. I love how the pumpkins turned out. Still working on my watercoloring. The stamps are from Loads of Love and Loads of Love accessories.

Wanna Play? Challenge #6: RECYCLE IT!

November 15th is America Recycles Day!

About.com describes America Recycle Day as:

About America Recycles Day

America Recycles Day (ARD), November 15, is the only nationally recognized day dedicated to encouraging Americans to recycle and to buy recycled products. Celebrating its 11th year, it has grown to include millions of Americans pledging to increase their recycling habits at home and work and to buy products made with recycled materials. Through America Recycles Day, the National Recycling Coalition supports local communities and raises awareness by educating citizens about the benefits of recycling. Volunteer America Recycles Day coordinators are positioned throughout the country and work to organize recycling awareness events in their schools and communities, and in conjunction with their local municipalities.

On November 15 each year, millions of people become better informed about the importance of daily recycling and buying recycled products. The purpose of America Recycles Day is to continue to promote the social, environmental and economic benefits of recycling and encourage more people to join the movement toward creating a better natural environment.

Your challenge for this week is to make a card using ONLY scraps of paper, ribbon, etc. The one exception to this is your card base, which doesn't have to be "recycled". We scrappers and stampers can do our part to reduce waste within our own community too!

Please email me or snail mail me your cards by Friday, November 14th.

Wanna Play? October Winner!

Congrats, Raina! You won the October Wanna Play challenge! Raina has won a Stampin' Store container filled with retired brads, eyelets, and hodgepodge hardware valued around $10.00! In addition, she'll receive a hand-stamped gift from me as well!

Thank you to everyone who participated! Please keep checking back to the site each week on Fridays for new challenges and to get entered into November's drawing!