Birthday case

Hi Stampers!

Online Extravaganza
November 19th-28th, 2012
Up to 50% Off! 

• There's no minimum purchase required to participate in this promotion. Sale on!
• For product bundles, you need to use the bundle item numbers provided. If you use individual item numbers, you won't get the discount--bummer. 

Here is the PDF with the required order numbers so you can get your wish list ready!

There are some one day items only so make sure you check those dates!

Do you know the best place to get stamping ideas?  For me it is the Stampin' Up! Catalog!  I don't always use a card layout exactly as it is but I will often search the samples for ideas on how to dress up a card that I'm working on- what could I add that would give it just a little "wow" factor.  This card, however, I cased the layout- see page 83 and you will see the card.  I changed the stamp sets to use what I had- Summer silhouettes, Elements of Style (background), and Curly Cute (words).  I really like the way the "trellis" stamp looks stamped with white stazon ink in the background.  It adds a subtle, textural element that pleases me, especially with the flourish stamped on top, like a vine climbing a trellis.  Okay, so maybe not but that's what it is in my world ;O).
I didn't have a template to punch around the edge of the framelit so I freehanded it.  The spacing is a bit closer than the template I used for the background edge punch but I'm okay with that.  I give you permission to freehand any time you like as well.  Isn't that freeing?  Go for it!
Have a great day!

Hooray! Another Color Challenge!

Hello Stampers!

I'm joining another color challenge over at Create with Connie and Mary (ccmc208) with
colors I rarely use:

They look so cute together with the little suns don't they?  Well, I didn't make little suns but I did pull out one of my new sets for this challenge:

Just seeing the little images from Storybook Friends stamp set brings me back to when my girls were little.  We are all voracious readers and they started from a very young age- maybe from all the books I read to them.  Read to your children!  It's fun!
I stamped the fox with my Jet Black Stazon Pad (#101406) and colored in with my Aquapainters (#103954) and my ink pads (Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Old Olive, and Bashful Blue), and cut out with the Labels collection Framelit. Have you water colored with your stamp pads before?  If you haven't all you need to do is squish your pad before you open them to get ink on the lid of the pad.  You can then pick up this ink with your aquapainter, watercolor paint brush, or blender pen to happily color away!  Just a tip- when painting a larger area, like the fox, get the ink really wet so it  spreads evenly.  You can add more color over the top as you need it but you'll have better coverage to start.  Let me show you what I mean:

Here is the lid with the ink squished on the top.  On the left is how it looks when you open up the case.  On the right I've mixed the ink with the water in my aquapainter to make a "wash".  When I paint on my first coat it looks like this:

It is a light, even coat.  I can then add more color and detailing as I like:

I'm not really very talented at water-coloring but I really don't have to be- the images are so cute they stand up on their own! 
Okay, so I used Basic Gray for the background card stock, and Pumpkin Pie for the belly band, after embossing it with the new Argyle Embossing folder.  I made a banner in Real Red cardstock and embellished it with a Basic Grey button (using the Button, button Sizzlit die).
I guess the last thing I should tell you about is omitting.  The Hooray actually is part of the stamp with the fox.  To stamp the fox with out the words I carefully applied the pad to the stamp without getting the ink on the words.  I then cleaned the stamp carefully, let it dry, then inked up the words with the Black Stampin' marker and stamped just the words on the Real Red cardstock.
Thanks for stopping by!
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