321 Stamp: Launching Creativity

Truly Tailored - Stamparatus Perfect Border Video

I know I've been a stranger. I've been stamping up a storm but between being my mom's caregiver, my day job and preparing for our daughter's high school graduation, this year has been a blur. I did want to share a short video that I made for my long ignored YouTube channel that shows how easy it is to use the Stamparatus to make the pointed navy border on the greeting panel on this card.

The Stamparatus is Stampin' Up!'s new amazing stamp positioning tool that will be available for purchase in our new catalog that launches in June. Take a look at how I could make the border using one stamp and the unique hinge "step-stamping" technique that the Stamparatus makes possible. If you're reading this in an email, click here to see the border technique video.

Enjoy!

Truly Tailored Clear-Mount Bundle
$34.00

True Gentleman Designer Series Paper
$11.00

Night Of Navy 3/8" (1 Cm) Corduroy Ribbon
$8.00

True Gentleman Buttons
$7.00

Tranquil Tide 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$8.00

Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$8.00

Generated by SUDSOL, Free Trial at www.sudsol.org

Using the Envelope Punch Board to Make a File Folder Photo Mat

In my last blog post I showed a scrapbook page with a photo mat that looks like a miniature file folder. I want to show you how I made that using our new Envelope Punch Board. First here's another look at the finished page waiting for me to add a photo on the mat.

Now here's how to make it. My page is 8 inches square so I started with a piece of Crushed Curry card stock that was 6" wide by 4 & 1/2" tall. First step, with the card stock horizontal, line the left edge up with the left side of the opening in the punch part of the board -- push down on the punch -- here's a photo of that lined up and ready to be punched.

Now slide the same left edge over to the 2 & 3/4" mark (I like using 2 & 3/4" for this size mat or even to do this effect on the side of a card, but you could slide over more or a little less if you like). Once it's lined up, punch again. Here's how it looks lined up for step 2.

Now you are going to need to cut off the rest of the top edge so that just your tab is left. Our Stampin' Trimmer is perfect for that becaue you can line up the dip with the cutting groove, line the cutting blade up with the dip so you're starting the cut there and only cutting off the part you want to get rid of. Here it is lined up and ready to trim once I lower the cutting arm.

And here's what it looks like once I've made my cut.

You can see the piece I trimmed off. This is very easy to do and you can really have some fun with this technique making mini file folders. It even works if you start with a folded card and do the technique to both sides. I'll share a halloween card made with the folded file folder look in my next post.

Thanks for stopping in. It's Saturday night as I write this and it's been a great day of college football. I LOVE the college game -- always exciting to watch any teams play as they are so motivated by school pride to win.

New Today - Envelope Punch Board

Stampin' Up! has a great new product available starting today - September 1. An envelope punch board that mes 66 sizes of envelopes makes its debut today -- just in time to reduce the "labor" of making envelopes. (Excuse the Labor Day weekend pun.)

Here's a video that shows it in action (if you're reading this in an email, click here to watch it.)

Here are some key features:

• It creates totally customizable envelopes in up to 66 different sizes (not to mention a million different color and pattern options depending on the paper you want to use). Even tried and true envelope sizes will only take you moments to create!
• It's super easy to use; It may look intimidating at first glance, but all you have to do is measure for the first punch and from there you just turn and score.
• It's small and lightweight; it's super portable and easy to store. It's small and light enough that you could use it while watching a soccer match, at a park, at a friend's for craft night-anywhere.
• It even has a slick scoring tool as well as a punch that lets you create rounded corners on your envelopes.
• It's easy to keep it all together; the stylus storage compartment and two punches are designed into the tool so you don't have a bunch of little pieces to keep track of (even the instructions are printed right on the tool so you won't lose them!).
• The price is terrific-especially for a tool that does so much!(Just $19.95 U.S.)

It's item # 133774 and you can order it in my online store by clicking here.

I've been playing with mine as I was able to preorder one and start to play with it. I can't wait to share some more ideas on things to make beyond just envelopes (although it is fun to make envelopes!) I used to make envelopes from old magazine pages and this makes it so easy to do that and of course making them with Designer Series Paper that matches your card is just perfect.

FInally today -- I spend my day managing the website and social media accounts for Eastern Florida State College so I've stuck to blogging for the Stampin' Up! part of my life - but I've finally taken the plunge and added a facebook page for stamping news so go follow me on facebook and "like" my page so you get the extra news and ideas I'll be sharing there.

Hexagon Punch Card

This was one of the make and take projects at my Open House today. I had so much fun seeing so many people -- thank you everyone who stopped by or sent warm wishes! This card uses the great new In Color stretch ruffle ribbon and the Simply Pressed clay and molds to make the flower, which was then "painted" with ink.

It's notecard size -- I LOVE the updated Stampin' Up! notercards and envelopes -- they are a heavier weight white card stock then before and so nice. The Baked Brown Sugar panel was embossed with the Hexagon folder and the images come from the Six-Sided Sampler stamp set and matching Hexagon punch. (buy them as a bundle and save!)

Here's the card with Pistachio ribbon and the matching envelope.

Also wanted to share a wonderful video that sums up the Stampin' Up convention that was held in Salt Lake City July 18-20. The first couple of minutes are demonstrators sharing how SU! has made a difference to them and how they make a difference -- then stay tuned for the Convention theme song, sung by Ryan Innes from The Voice (how cool that he was there in person at the Salt Lake convention center to kick things off with this performance -- he graduated from nearby BYU) -- plus there are fun highlights from this wonderful event to celebrate our 25th anniversary. I loved being there in person along with 11 other members of our 3-2-1 Stamp! team -- what a great time.

 

Halloween Sneak Peek

I have a card made with a few products from the Holiday Catalog to share (Stampin' Up's Holiday Catalog debuts August 1).

Love the Chevron border down the side -- punched through the black layer with the new Chevron Border punch (available Aug. 1) so you can see the Pumpkin Pie card stock. Love how it makes a hole for me to thread my ribbon through. The greetings are also new as of Aug. 1 -- from two new sets in the Holiday catalog called Tags 4 You (the trick or treat image) and Halloween Bash (the harlequin patterned image stamped in pumpkin and then punched out with the coordinating Decorative Label Punch.) See that new shape used with the Trick or Treat image? It's a new punch called the Label Bracket Punch and it coordinates with a new set of images -- all cute.

I embossed the background with the Chevon embossing folder -- after I had done the punching so it's just partial. You will LOVE how easily the border punch lines up so you can keep adding on to the length. And you're left with lots of little arrows you can glue onto another project.

I'm on my way to Salt Lake today for Stampin' Up's annual convention -- celebrating our 25th year in business! I'll be swapping this Halloween card there and will share a couple more of my swaps this week.

Enjoy!

Stocking Becomes a Hobby Horse & How to get a FREE Big Shot Machine

Be sure to read on for another great Stocking Punch idea but first I had to share the amazing deal that Stampin' Up is offering in October. A FREE Big Shot Die Cutting machine for everyone who signs up as a demonstrator! Already have one? Then you can choose $100 in free product of your choice instead! Wow!

I've loved being a demonstrator for 14 years and I love supporting the 3-2-1 Stamp team of demonstrators. The benefits of signing up are incredible:

- 20% off of every order (and 30% off your first order over $150 in the first 45 days)

- The chance to get off to a fast start and earn more free stamp sets.

- A Starter Kit worth $345 that costs just $175 and the shipping is free (even for that free added Big Shot machine or $100 in bonus stamping goodies.)

- A low $300 minimum per quarter -- with no requirement to meet that until your first full quarter as a demonstrator. So for people who sign up in October, that means you only have to sell $300 total by end of March 2012.

- You can be your own best customer and it counts toward your minimum. Of course you can also hold workshops and classes and make this a part time or full time business -- it's your choice.

Click here to learn more and you can sign up right from that information page that you'll link to on my website. If you sign up online, you're going to then choose your free Big Shot or $100 in free product after you've signed up through a special link that Stampin' Up will email you. And of course email me if you have any questions.

Now onto the card....

Last post I shared a pretty girl baby card using the great Stitched Stocking stamp set and matching punch (which of course makes great, easy Christmas cards). Today it's time for a boy version. I first saw the stocking turned upside down to become a hobby horse in a version made by the amazing Jackie Topa.

My version rests on a card that measures 3 & 1/4" by 6 & 1/2" when folded -- a nice vertical size that fits inside our Open End Envelopes. The stick for my little hobby horse is a decorative toothpick that I bought at Cracker Barrell restaurants. Colors are Marina Mist, Pear Pizzazz and Early Espresso.

A few details to note: The mane on this little horse is some dotted ribbon that's ruffled along some Sticky Strip on the back side. 1/8" Marina Mist ribbon becomes a bridle. The cute ear is the stamped and punched out heel tidbit turned on end to be an ear! I drew on the dot for the eye with an Espresso marker. The doily was cut with the Perfect Pennants die and a white 1 & 3/4" circle provides some contrast. When I was done -- it still needed a little something and that's when I added the little Early Espresso Baker's Twine bow to the stick.I also love the little greeting from Perfect Pairs (again!) that was stamped in then punched out with the Pennant punch and mounted onto the coordinating scallop punched pennant in Espresso. Then look inside and the inside greeting gets the same treatment for a nice little surprise.

Next up is some creative inspiration from Stampcation (is that not a great name for a stamping retreat?!)

 

Blossom Bouquet Punch Card

I made this card a couple of months back as a Stamp Club project to showcase the new Triple Layer punches. See those cute flowers? Everything but the center of each flower is made using one punch that has a three-position lever that you can move so it punches three different flowers! The stamp set for the stems and the cute flower stamped center -- and the greeting -- is Bold Blossom from the Summer Mini Catalog -- so it's only available through August 31 and is the perfect match in size and style for these punched flowers. It's only $12.95 in wood mount (item #123232) and just $9.95 in Clear Mount (item #122232) The smaller punched centers in Daffodil and Melon Mambo were made using the Itty Bitty punch pack punches -- love those for that perfect little touch to finish off a project.

Finally, to wrap up my recent tributes to the end of the space shuttle program that I've shared here on my blog, click here to see a wonderful blog post by my friend, CBS Radio Correspondent Peter King, whose post includes a video of my husband Bill sharing his throughts on the final landing during the CBS Early Show Thursday morning. The video is embedded in Peter's post about halfway down. Bill still has lots of space news to cover for CBS, such as the launches to the space station as American astronauts hitch a ride on Russian rockets and tracking the progress of NASA's new commercial space partnerships. Thanks for endulging my mentions of the space program since they inspired my blog's name.

Punch Art Bookmarks

I have a daughter who loves to read -- so when I saw the ideas for punch art bookmarks that Stampin' Up CEO Shelli Gardner shared on her blog, I knew I had to share them here so you'd be sure not to miss them. I've posted in just one idea for the shark, but there are numerous ideas perfect for kids and best of all, she shared the punch patterns. I love the little oval label where you could stamp or right each child's name.

Click here to see them all and learn the how-tos.

Still busy, busy, busy, but hope things slow down soon so I can be a better blogger!

Build a Blossom Speed Stamping Trick

I'm back -- but still busy and still juggling lots of writing deadlines and stamping classes. I wanted to pop in though and share this beautiful card (the idea came direct from Stampin' Up at our Leadership training event in Jan.) The beautifully simple card uses the Build a Blossom stamp set and coordinating Blossom Petals Punch that are available through the end of April in Stampin' Up's Occasions Mini catalog -- just look for these items in my online store if you don't already have them.

So here's the "speed stamping" trick -- and it's SUCH a time saver when you are stamping and punching multiple petals that you want to stamp in the same color ink. The trick is to use the CLEAR MOUNT version of the Build a Blossom set. The trick starts with a punched out template using the Blossom Petals Punch --- just punch one complete set of petals from a scrap of card stock.

You'll save this punched template in the box with your stamps and then here's why you need the clear mount set, you can position the stamps right through the punched template, pressing them onto your larger clear block in the perfect position so that as you stamp your punch will then line up with every petal perfectly. (You can see that I marked my card stock template so I always know which side is up when I'm positioning petals. On the other side I wrote, "This side against clear block." No need to re-think it each time.

Once I stamp the three petals that I need — in this case in Cherry Cobbler ink on Cherry Cobbler card stock — punched five times. It's then easy to use the punch upside down, lining up my punch and punching out all three petals at once!

Here are my assembly tricks — after much experimenting with what will hold the flower together well. I first use a bone folder to get a nice curve in my petals. I punch out a base circle -- in this case I used a 1 & 3/8" circle base since the bottom petals are large. I covered that circle with SNAIL sticky adhesive. And then I found that a Mini Glue dot on the point of each petal was the best way to go. Yes, a Mini Glue dot on each petal, all five petals, for all three layers so I used 15 mini glue dots but my flowers then stay together.

And I have a trick for holding the flower to your project. I use Mini Glue dots on the base circle to attach it to the card — and also added a foam Dimensional "dot" under just the five larger bottom petals. I found the added Dimensionals keep the curve "puffed up" and they make sure your flower is locked down and does not spin or move too much. This is a "wow" card that you went to a lot of trouble to make so why not take a little extra care to make sure everything is is place?

The center of my flower is an embossed card stock button die cut with the Sweet Buttons embosslit from the Occasions Mini Catalog. To that I added the stamped and punched center from the flower stamp set -— it punches out easily with a 1/2 inch circle punch and gives the center the same tone-on-tone feel as the rest of the flower.

The last addition to this card was three simple scored lines to frame the pretty blossom. They were easily made by using the scoring tool on my Fiskars 12 inch cutter to score three lines just 1/8 inch apart. Score the lines on the inside front of your card and then the pretty "bumps" are on the outside. Plus I went over each scoreline using the tip of my bone folder in the groove of the Fiskars — that way the bone folder could easily travel in my "starter groove" and make the embossed line more pronounced.

It's so fun to make flowers with this set and matching punch — and if your petals are all one color, then this speed tip will make it much faster! Enjoy.

An Easter card: Guest stamper

It's been too long since I've posted -- but I've been swaped. I'm a writer as well as a stamper and this has been a month packed full of writing deadlines. I do have some project ideas to share as soon as I get some photos taken. In the meantime I had to share this cute card from 3-2-1 Stamp team member Diane Simpers (who got the punch idea from Jackie Topa).

Click here to go to Diane's wonderful blog and get all the details! Enjoy and I'll be back soon.