MORE "BOHO BACKGROUNDS"

This is a rather large card . . . 5.5" x 5.5" and, as you can see, I used the medallion image from "Boho Backgrounds" and, again, layered it by using a couple of punches. Aren't you LOVING this set????? Two other images from Boho Backgrounds were used on this card . . . the dotted background (they're actually tiny flowers, not dots) on the bottom of the Bashful Blue card stock and the floral background on the Wild Wasabi "carousel." Speaking of carousel, the semi-circle on the left side of this card is from a product that will be available in the "Occasions" mini catalog next month . . . "Carousel Notes." SU products used to create this card include Scallop Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, "Smarty Pants" stamp set, Bashful Blue Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, 1/8" Circle Punch, Celery Glitter, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots, Bashful Blue card stock, and Carousel Notes (Wild Wasabi).

"BOHO BACKGROUNDS" NAME TAG

Go ahead and put "Boho Backgrounds" on your wish list. Better yet, move it to the TOP of the list. This is an awesome stamp set, and NO ONE should be without it! I'm going to a Demonstrator meeting and needed a name tag, and this is what I came up with. SU products used to make this tag include several punches . . . Scallop, 1-1/4" circle, Boho Blossoms, 1/2" circle, Corner Rounder, and 1/4" circle. Other products used include Rough Edges Alphabet, Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip, and Very Vanilla card stock, Chocolate Chip and VersaMark ink, Vanilla embossing powder, and Kraft Taffeta ribbon.

SO MANY SCALLOPS (Peppermint Patty Box)

This little box holds two Peppermint Patties--yes, it's pretty small. I didn't really do much to decorate it . . . I used a Gold Leafing Pen to add gold highlights along the edges and scored sections of the card stock, put the scalloped circles in place, and tied the box closed with Gold Cord. I really liked how the stamped image turned out, and it was all by accident. This was the first time I used this stamp set ("So Many Scallops" - free SAB set), so I stamped it twice on Whisper White card stock. It was stamped with Gold Metallic ink the first time and Rose Red Classic ink the second time. I used the Scallop Circle punch on the Rose Red image, and then I used the 1-3/8" Circle punch on the center of the gold stamped image. I didn't really like the way these two pieces looked, so I decided to use the Scallop Circle punch on the remainder of the gold stamped image. Remember . . . I had already punched the center out? Basically, it was like a golden scalloped wreath! When I positioned it on top of the Rose Red image, I turned it so the scallops weren't lined up, and this allowed some of the Rose Red ink to show itself around the scalloped edge. Neat, huh?

ROCK-A-BYE BABY

For someone whose friends have pretty much "aged out" of the baby years, I am really enjoying this "Nursery Necessities" stamp set--mainly, the sailboat image. Chadrick had a sailboat nursery (many years ago), but we used primary colors "back then." On this card, I added some fun doodles, and I think they add just the right amount of "umph" to the card. I had a hard time deciding which color of ribbon to use so, believe me, the Certainly Celery looked best. BTW, the size of this card is 3" x 6" and it fits SU's Small Open-End Envelopes. Other SU products used to create this card include Scalllop Circle punch, Pop-Up Glue Dots, Metallic Brads, and Mini Glue Dots.

A BOX IS A BOX, RIGHT?

Why is it that boxes are so intriguing to stampers? Whenever I see one, my mind always begins to wonder . . . how hard is it to make, what would I use it for, how should I decorate it, etc. This box is quite an odd size, mainly because I (unknowingly at the time) didn't exactly follow the instructions, but a box is still a box, right? What made this box a ton of fun is that I used Rub-Ons to decorate it. The floral vine along the bottom and the "happy day" on the lid are rub-ons from one of the Sale-A-Bration products that will be available Feb. 1 - March 17 from Stampin' Up! There are four sheets of rub-ons in the pack, they all have the same images, but each sheet is a different color . . . black, white, Chocolate Chip, and Old Olive. With any $50+ order during the Sale-A-Bration (SAB) period, you can choose one of the SAB products. Other SU products used to make this box include the Scallop punch, Horizontal Slot punch, Circle punches, Soft Sky Double-Stitched Grosgrain ribbon, "Big Pieces" and "Little Pieces" stamp sets, Vintage eyelets, and 5/8" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain ribbon (to cover up a little scoring boo-boo). Even with it's minor imperfections, this box is still a box.

PINWHEEL CENTERPIECE

Have you noticed the designer paper pinwheels on page 67 of the new catalog? I fell in love with them and decided to try them tonight. I wasn't sure what I'd do with them, so I decided to just do as SU had done . . . put them in something glass! I went a step further, though, and added some Eastern Elegance Rub-Ons (the white flower on the glass and the "you make me smile" sentiment on the ribbon). Pretty cool, huh? I really wanted to use some Jelly Beans in the bottle, but I had to settle for bath salts. Fortunately, they were the perfect color (don't you just love it when things come together), and I'd had them for a year or so--just taking up space on a shelf! Wouldn't this centerpiece be perfect for a Spring/Summer event? Truth be told, this project took less than an hour to create, and I even applied the Rub-Ons after I'd already filled the bottle with bath salts and tied the ribbon in a knot! Super easy!

BINDER CLIP PHOTO HOLDER

Is this a cute little dilly, or what???? Best of all, it took about 5 minutes to make--and that includes the time it took to scratch my head, bite the right side of my lip and say "Hmmm . . . how do I want to decorate this." That gorgeous paper is from the Ginger Blossom collection, and the stamped image is from "Embrace Life." I colored the image with an aqua painter using Ruby Red and Groovy Guava inks. I used the 1-1/4" and 1-3/8" circle punches and layered those two sizes on the punched scallop circle, to which I added a touch of doodle art. I don't know if I was right to start doodling the scallop circles because now they look naked without those tiny doodles. To finish this project, I tied a bow of River Rock double-stitched grosgrain ribbon.

SO VERY . . . SORRY

One of my favorite SU Sell-A-Bration stamp sets of all time is from last year . . . "So Very." I "so very" wish that it didn't have to retire at the end of the SAB sales period. I had an opportunity (a need, really) to use it this morning. I found out that a person whom I've done business with a few times lost her home, her business, and three pet poodles to a fire this past Saturday. Fortunately, her family was able to get out of the house. I cannot imagine the magnitude of such loss--it's unfathomable! When I sat down to make a card for this family, the one and only stamp set that would work to convey my message was "So Very." The inside of the card just reads "sorry." What more can one say?

SCALLOPED FLORAL SNOW BLOSSOM

What does this card need???? I wasn't sure what to do with the "flowers" I created this morning, so I put them on the white panel. It was boring, of course, so I added some "doodling." It still wasn't exciting, so I added the red photo corner. I came home this afternoon and thought it still looked boring, so I added the "make a wish" sentiment . . . and then I added the three brads. It still seems to need something, but I'm afraid whatever it needs is something that should have been done before the doodling--maybe even before the flowers were put in place. Argh!

How did I make this card? I began by punching the Snow Blossom on three pieces of card stock (Real Red, River Rock, and Soft Sky). I then centered that punched out portion in the Scallop Circle punch, and added some doodles to the flowers. I used three pieces of Xyron tape (cut to size) on the backside of the flowers, and then sprinkled them with Dazzling Diamonds glitter. A mini glue dot was used to adhere the small buttons to the flower centers. Can you see how sparkly the flowers are?

I like the flowers, but the overall card design doesn't do them justice. I'll have to go back to the drawing board with this one. ;-)

STAMP-A-STACK CARDS

I totally forgot to post this last night when I wrote about World Card Making Day. In observation of World Card Making Day and National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I hosted a Stamp-a-Stack on Saturday, October 6th. A portion of the event fee and orders placed on the 6th will be donated in my sister's honor to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

I designed these four cards for the SAS, and my guests got to make two of each design. Their bonus project for this fun event was getting to make their own two-pocket bag like the one that I made for their "thank you" gift.

Thanks again, ladies, for your support of this very worthy cause! I appreciate you!

THESE ADDRESS BOOKS ARE ADDICTIVE!

This is the second address book, and you can see the Bind-It-All in this photo. The BIA was used to secure the book with the wire binding. This particular book features Stampin' Up!'s Prints Designer Series Paper (Soft Sky), a scalloped layer of Fall Flowers Designer Series Paper that was scalloped with the Corner Rounder Punch. Punches used to create the floral accent are the new Scallop Circle, 5-Petal Flower, and Spring Flowers. A Rhinestone Brad was placed in the center of the layered flowers. I used the Round Tab Punch to create the alphabetical tabbed dividers on the inside of the book just as I did in the first address book.

"THREE FOR YOU" PUNCH BOX PROMOTION

It's not too late to order your punch box and receive FREE 3x3 note cards and envelopes from Stampin' Up! . . . AND . . . instructions for making a 3x3 Note Card Holder (shown above on the brass stand) from me. I've been enjoying the punch and stamp set and wanted to share some of my creations. One of my favorite discoveries with this punch kit is faux dotted ribbon (see the So Saffron card at the top of this post)!!!! How cool is that???

The stamps in this punch kit offer a lot of versatility, used with or without the punch, and the punched flowers are adorable! I like how they get punched with curved petal tips!

If you'd like to get this punch box AND the freebies outlined above, just let me know before month end.

Scallops & More Scallops

Scallops seem to be all the rage, and I have to admit that I love them, too. There are scallop punches in all shapes and sizes, and there are other punches that can be used to create scalloped edges if you don't own the special punches. The dark scalloped circle in the center of the flower was created with Stampin' Up!'s brand new punch! What I like about this new punch is that it's just the right size to use with our circle punches, AND there are many stamp set images that fit this new punch! It's hard to tell from the picture, but two of the "Pick a Petal" images were used to create the flower petals. I also used a stamp (hello) from "In the Spotlight." Of course, the wavy sentiment on this card is from "Stem Sayings." This card is just full of new stuff . . . Pick a Petal, In the Spotlight, Stem Sayings, Scallop punch, Blue Bayou and Soft Sky card stock and . . . the "popcorn scallop" technique. Since I plan to demo this neat edging at my upcoming workshops, I won't reveal how it's accomplished. You might as well stop hitting your monitor because my mind is made up. ;-)