PPA39:KISS & Sneak Peek!

Pals Paper Arts is hosting a KISS (Keep it Simple, Sweetie!) challenge this week and I couldn't resist using a sneak peek set from the Summer Mini called Elements of Style!

I don't know how "kissable" this is, though. I tried to restrain myself from adding too much- honest! I guess I still got a bit carried away :).

You will definitely want to view the close-up of this card to find another sneak peek! I used a new folder from the Summer Mini called "Square Lattice". I love the texture it adds to the card.

Here are some tips:

• I stamped a background on Whisper White using Jet Black Stazon. Then I ran it through my Big Shot with the Square Lattice die. The texture really reminds me of fabric.
• My color scheme did remain pretty simple- lots of white, black, and touches of Real Red and Kraft (soon to be called Crumb Cake).
• I snipped out the little humming bird and added it to the card with dimensionals. The sentiment square was also added with dimensionals so that I could run Real Red grosgrain underneath it.

My Summer Mini pre-order included a lot of other fun things that I hope to share with you soon! Being a demonstrator is so fun. If you have ever thought about joining and/or have any questions, feel free to email me any time.

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Recipe:
Stamps: Elements of Style (Summer Mini)
Ink: Basic Black, Creamy Caramel, Real Red
Paper: Kraft, Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories: Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, 1/4" Real Red Grosgrain, Dimensionals

Melon and Saffron Fifth Avenue Floral

You might have noticed that I have a fancy new badge on my left sidebar. That is because my Rose Card won last week as a Pals Paper Arts Artist Pick! I am so excited and flattered. You want a cool badge, too? All you have to do is Play at PPA and you could win it!


Today's card features my absolute favorite set that Stampin' Up! has available right now- Fifth Avenue Floral. You might have guessed that this one is my favorite with as many times as I have used it in my blog projects! I have the perfect excuse though- right now this is one of 4 sets that are 20% off as part of the Stampin' Up! Two-Step into Spring promotion!

Some tips:

• I created my own DSP using some Whisper White and the Fifth Avenue Floral set. I used the masking technique so that the flowers would not overlap each other. Each flower was filled in with Melon Mambo or So Saffron ink. TIP: For a softer look, I opted to use a blender pen dipped in ink.
• Frost White Shimmer Paint was applied all over using a sponge. This actually looks pretty amazing in person, but doesn't seem to photograph very well.
• The sentiment, from With All My Heart, was inked using markers and stamped onto Whisper White.
  
• The finishing touches include a Scallop Edge Border, silver brads (attached perfectly using the Mat Pack and Paper Piercing Tool), and some Melon Mambo Polka Dot Grosgrain. TIP: I used the back side of the ribbon so the polka dots wouldn't show.

I just put in a gigantic Stampin' Up! order that includes some great new items from the upcoming Summer Mini. The UPS man should be dropping it by on Friday so hopefully I will have some sneak peek items to show by early next week!



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Recipe:
Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, With All My Heart
Ink: Melon Mambo, So Saffron, Basic Black
Paper: Whisper White, Melon Mambo, So Saffron, Basic Gray
Accessories: Melon Mambo Polka Dot Grosgrain, Silver Brads, Scallop Edge Punch, Blender Pens, Frost White Shimmer Paint

PPA37: Roses are Pink and Purple

Aren't these roses gorgeous!? I learned how to do them using Julie Williams tutorial- so easy to follow and the results are amazing. And since the challenge over at Pals Paper Arts is a theme challenge using flowers, it works perfectly!

Here are some tips:

• I added a tiny bit of Frost White shimmer paint to the edges of some of the petals using a paint brush. I haven't decided if I like it better with or with out the extra shimmer, but I decided to just go with it. The shimmer pops in the photo more than in person (maybe a bit too much!).
  
• This gorgeous Certainly Celery satin ribbon was tied in a "bow" and fastened using a Pewter Build-a-brad.
  
• I used my Circle Scissor Plus and Scallop Circle Die (Big Shot) to create a fun backdrop for my sentiment and flowers.
• The rose "recipe" calls for using the Extra Large Fancy Flower Punch, which I don't actually own. But... Stampin' Up! just released this as a digital download for My Digital Studio! In some ways I think it worked better because I was able to size the punch down to create smaller flowers (purple). In the future, however, I think I will go ahead and get the punch so I can easily mass produce flowers vs cutting them out by hand.
  

Well, I am off to try and make more flowers. I am thinking a bouquet. A Mother's Day Gift perhaps??? Hmm... off to create!

Remember to keep thinking about Stampin' Up!'s new Color Renovation Project. Keep in mind the retiring colors when ordering! Be sure to stock up on your favorites because after July 1 they will be gone!


Order Stampin' Up! online 24-7! Click Here!

Recipe: Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral Ink: Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Rich Razzleberry, Lavender Lace Paper: Whisper White, Rose Red, Rich Razzleberry, Lavender Lace, Certainly Celery, Rich Razzleberry DSP Accessories: Bone Folder, Stylus, Paper Snips, My Digital Studio (for Fancy Flower Punch), Big Shot, Scallop Circle Die, Circle Scissor Plus, Polka Dot Texture Impressions Folder, Certainly Celery Satin Ribbon, Build-a-brad, 1/2" circle punch, mini glue dots, dimensionals, eyelet border punch

Stampin' Up! Color Renovation!!!

Breaking News!!!!


Stampin' Up! has just announced a complete color renovation to take place this summer when the new catalog is rolled out. Many of your favorite In Colors will be returning and 5 new core colors will be released!!

On a bittersweet note, since all these new colors will now be part of the core collection, it seems only fitting that Stampin' Up! will be retiring some of the current colors. See the full list of colors at the end of this post. Be sure to start stocking up on ink, paper, and accessories now! After July these colors will no longer be available!

Without further adieu, here is the new color collection (click the image to enlarge):

Notice that the color families will be changing. Some colors have been grouped with different colors and the names have changed.

Brights Collection:
Regal Rose, Melon Mambo (current In Color), Rich Razzleberry (current In Color), Pacific Point (former In Color), Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight (new!), Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango (former In Color), Real Red

Neutrals Collection:
River Rock (former In Color), Chocolate Chip, Soft Suede, Early Espresso (new!), Crumb Cake (formerly called Kraft), Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Basic Gray, Basic Black

Regals Collection:
Elegant Eggplant, Night of Navy, Not Quite Navy, Always Artichoke, Garden Green, More Mustard, Cajun Craze (new!), Riding Hood Red (former In Color), Cherry Cobbler (new!), Bravo Burgundy

Subtles Collection:
Pink Pirouette (former In Color), Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Perfect Plum, Marina Mist (new!), Bashful Blue, Baja Breeze (former In Color), Wild Wasabi (former In Color), Certainly Celery, So Saffron


To be retired on July 1:
Pink Passion, Pixie Pink, Pale Plum, Orchid Opulence. Lovely Lilac. Lavender Lace, Almost Amethyst, Bordering Blue, Brocade Blue, Ballet Blue, Brilliant Blue, Taken with Teal, Glorious Green, Handsome Hunter, Sage Shadow, Mellow Moss, Green Galore, Gable Green, Barely Banana, Yoyo Yellow, Ruby Red, Cameo Coral, Blush Blossom, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Going Gray

Click here to download the Fond Farewell Color Chart

Some important notes:

• You'll notice that Neutrals has been added as a color collection (formerly called family) and Earth Elements has been eliminated (although many of the colors have been reorganized into different collections).

• Kraft has been renamed Crumb Cake. This also means that this color will not only be available in card stock as before, but you will also be able to purchase the ink pad and marker!

• A new stamp pad design will be phased in to reflect the changes in the color collections. These changes will take place over time and not all at once.

• Don't stress if you have items that come in a set like the markers, watercolor crayons, pastels, etc. Stampin' Up! will be coming out with Color Kits to fill in those items with the new colors as well as some more new fun products!

• Stampin' Up! will continue offering brand-new In Colors! This year we can expect 5 new colors and they will last 2 years, instead of one! This means that after this first year we will have 10 new In Colors at a time.

Remember that new colors probably mean new accessories too!

Big Shot Hair Pins- PPA35

Today at Pals Paper Arts we are hosting an Anything BUT a Card challenge! I decided that I wanted to do something using my Big Shot that doesn't even involve stamps or paper (gasp!). I have a bunch of random scraps of fabric (from the bargain bin at my local craft store), so I decided to make something with a couple of my favorite pieces: a pretty pink cotton, and a chocolate suede-like fabric.

Here are the steps used to create this project:

• I simply ran the fabric through my Big Shot using the Flower Layers Bigz Die. TIP: I only put through two layers of fabric and I also added a piece of card stock to help it to cut through cleanly.
  
• I layered several layers of the fabric to create each flower.
  
• A crop-a-dile was used to punch a hole in the center of the flower.
• A Pretty-in-Pink epoxy brad was used to hold all the layers of the flower.
• A hair clip was attached to the back of each flower using some hot glue.
• To distress the flowers and give them more dimension, I folded them up and tied a rubber band around them for several hours.

I WISH I had a little girl to give this to, but all the ones I know are either way too young or too old for this kind of look. But how about this- leave a comment about your favorite way to use the Big Shot and I will randomly choose a winner to send these to!

I hope you will play along at PPA! We have so much fun looking at all the projects that are received. This is probably a good time to mention that this is my last project as a designer for Pals Paper Arts. As many of you know, I recently started a new job and that combined with my family and Stampin' Up! workshops, has left me with little time to devout to this. I absolutely love designing inspiration samples for PPA and am sad to let it go, but I am hopeful that I will be able to create regularly as a participant!




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Recipe:
Stamps: None!
Ink: None!
Paper: None!
Accessories: Big Shot, Flower Layers Bigz Die, Pretty in Pink Epoxy Brads, Crop-a-dile, Fabric, Hot Glue, Hair Clip

Retired Sets for Sale

Here are a few sets that have retired and I no longer use.

If you are interested in purchasing any of these please email me and we can make arrangements for me to get it to you. I am able to ship and can accept PayPal.



Classy and Fabulous: $8





If you have any questions, let me know!

PPA34: A Simple Sketch

Well... this last week we have been very busy potty training our 2 1/2 year old son, and let me tell you- it hasn't been a walk in the park. I needed a creative outlet away from the stress of training so this weeks Pals Paper Arts challenge was the perfect starting point.

Here are some tips for this card:

• It was super easy to come up with this color palette- all the colors are found in the new Shades of Spring DSP (Occasions Mini).
• I stamped the stem image from Great Friend just on the left side of the focal point. I was able to create some depth by repeatedly stamping without re-inking.
• The butterflies were first stamped and snipped out and then I used a 2-way glue pen to apply some Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

Well hopefully this next week will work better with the "training". Wish me luck and be sure to play at PPA!

Order Stampin' Up! online 24-7! Click Here!

Recipe:
Stamps: Great Friend
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Orchid Opulence
Paper: Whisper White, Shades of Spring DSP, Chocolate Chip, Orchid Opulence
Accessories: 2-way glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Pretty in Pink Epoxy Brads, Whisper White Organza Ribbon, Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots