New England Stamper

Christmas Scrapbook in a Box

Please don't think I'm ahead of the game and scrapbooking my Christmas pictures from this year - 2009.  Nope, the pictures I put into this Scrapbook in a Box are from 2007!  It's a start, right?  It was actually a special Christmas because it's the last one we spent in the UK and it was my niece's first Christmas - she was only a couple of months old.  I plan to put a little journaling in the empty squares.

The project is one we made in Stamp Club this month and we used the Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' kit.  These kits are perfect for this project - you can get 3 boxes from one kit if you use the patterned paper as the box lids.  

I've made several of these boxes before.  A summer box:

A July 4 box:

 

If you'd like to make one, here's a pdf file with the instructions: Download Scrapbook in a Box with Photos E

Hope you all had a great Christmas - thanks for stopping by!

Sponge and Shimmer Autumn Leaves

Here's another card we made at Stamp Club this month.  I showed the Sponge & Shimmer technique that I came up with a while ago.  You can see a tutorial I wrote about it on Gingersnap Creations.

We brayered So Saffron ink onto a Very Vanilla panel, sponged on a variety of coordinating inks, then painted the whole piece with a thin coat of the new SU Shimmer paint (love that stuff!).  Once the panel was dry, we stamped it with leaves from Autumn Splendor. 

Here's another card I made using the same technique.  Silhouette stamps work particularly well with this background.

If you've got any questions, please leave a comment and I'll get back to you.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Supplies

Card One:

• Stamps: Autumn Spendor, Harvest Home (sentiment)
• Paper: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
• Ink: So Saffron, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Chocolate Chip
• Accessories: Old Olive grosgrain ribbon, Champagne Shimmer paint
• Tools: Brayer

Card Two:

• Stamps: Upsy Daisy
• Paper: Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
• Ink: So Saffron, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Chocolate Chip
• Accessories: Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, Champagne Shimmer Paint
• Tools: Large oval punch, scallop oval punch

All supplies can be purchased from my Stampin' Up! website.

Top Note Quilt Cards

I love making these Top Note Quilt cards.  It's not a new idea, but they are so much fun, I just had to share.  And they are such a great way to use up designer paper scraps. 

I made this card today using Razzleberry Lemonade designer paper from the new 2009/2010 Idea Book & Catalog.  Scroll down to the end of the post for more samples.

This is how you make them: 

Here are a couple more examples.  The first is made with Bella Bleu designer paper and Kraft cardstock that I ran through a Texturz plate.  The second is a club card we made in May with the now retired Bella Rose paper.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.  Have a wonderful weekend!

If you would like to order the supplies to make these cards, please visit my Stampin' Up! website.

Razzleberry Card

• Paper: Rich Razzleberry textured c/stock (115719), Razzleberry Lemonade designer paper (115675), Whisper White c/stock (100730)
• Accessories: 5/8" Whisper White Satin Ribbon (114616)
• Tools: Big Shot (113439), Top Note Die (113463)

Bella Blue Card

• Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes (115370)
• Paper: Night of Navy c/stock (101722), Kraft c/stock (102125), Vanilla c/stock (101650), Bella Bleu designer paper (113974)
• Ink: Night of Navy classic ink (103008)
• Accessories: Twill Tape (105245)
• Tools: Big Shot (113439), Top Note Die (113463), Texturz Plate SU b/ground 1 (114512), Large Oval Punch (107305), Scallop Oval Punch (114889)

Flower Pot Bookmark Card

    

I made this project back in April with my Stamp Club and I promised them written directions on how to make it.  I feel bad it's taken me so long, but here is a quick photo tutorial on how it's made.  It is very similar to this Splitcoast Tutorial and I got the original idea from Stephanie Luman - thank you Stephanie.  My dimensions and directions are slightly different, so feel free to follow whichever make most sense to you.  Click on the photo if you wish to see a larger version.

Thank you for visiting my blog today.  Feel free to contact me with any questions you have.  Supplies to make this project can be ordered from my Stampin' Up! website.

Supplies:

• Stamps: Fundamental Phrases (114968), Oval All (113790)
• Paper: Kraft c/stock (102125), Whisper White c/stock (100730), Kiwi Kiss (retired, substitute with Old Olive 100702)
• Ink: Kiwi Kiss (retired, substitute with Old Olive 102277), Summer Sun marker (100077) & Chocolate Chip marker (100071), Whisper White Craft ink (101731)
• Accessories: Silver Brads (104336), 5/8" Satin Ribbon (114616), Summer Sun Corduroy Buttons (114343)
• Tools: Big Shot Machine (113439), Flower Daisies #2 Bigz Die (114520), Scallop Edge punch (112091), 5-Petal Flower punch (109041), Large Oval punch (107305), Scallop Oval punch (114889), 1/16" circle punch (101227), Sponge Daubers (102892)

Got Shimmerz?

I finally got my hands some on Shimmerz from my local scrapbook store and these little pots of bling are awesome.  They are super shimmery, water-based paints, which can be used on paper, glossy paper and non-porous surfaces.  What I like is that they're are pre-mixed, unlike Twinkling H2Os or Pearlex Powders.  I paid $3.95 per pot, I'm not sure how this compares with other places, but I'm happy with my sparkling investment. 

Here's a little tutorial on how I used Shimmerz on this this card:

1. Spritz a watercolor paper panel with water.

 

2. Use a wide watercolor brush and apply a thin layer of Shimmerz paint, just like a watercolor wash.

 

3. Allow to dry for about 5 minutes and enjoy the sparkle!

 

4. Rip around the edges of the panel and stamp background image with regular dye ink.

 

5. Sponge around panel with Distress inks.

 

6. Ink flower image with always artichoke and bravo burgundy markers and stamp onto piece of very vanilla c/stock.  Color with dye inks and an aquapainter.  See how flat the image is!

7.  Once dye inks have dried, paint the flower petals with Shimmerz to bring them to life.

 

8. Cut out flower and add to watercolor panel with dimensionals.

9. Finish Card.

 

Recipe:

Stamps: Thank You (Flourishes), All Holidays (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: watercolor paper, very vanilla, flocked paper (Doodlebug)
Ink: always artichoke, bravo burgundy, old olive, regal rose
Accessories: vanilla hardware (SU), Pink Shimmerz, ribbon
Tools: paint brushes, small oval punch

Have a wonderful weekend!

Faux Eyelet Tutorial

I've never done a tutorial before, so be easy on me....

I read on Splitcoast last week about making faux eyelets with 1/8" and 1/4" hole punches.  I love this idea because sometimes a project needs an eyelet in a specific SU color and either you don't have it or they don't make it.  I tried making them and they came out okay, but they were small and fiddly. 

This got me thinking that perhaps you could make them with the Crop-a-Dile.  And you can!  The Crop-a-Dile makes the faux eyelets 3/16", which is still pretty tiny, but they are a little more managable than the others.  Here's how you make them:

1.  You'll need card stock, a Crop-a-Dile and Tombo Multi.

2. Set the square black eyelet setters to positions 1 and C.  Put c/stock between the eyelet setters and squeeze really hard.  If you squeeze too gently, you will not make a hole, you'll only have embossed c/stock.

3. Here's the hole - the center of the eyelet.  You are probably wondering why you can't punch this hole using the Crop-a-Dile's 1/4" hole punch.  Well you can, but with this method your eyelet ring is slightly wider and easier to adhere.

4. Center the Crop-a-Dile's large hole punch (3/16") over the small hole and punch out. You might need to tap on the side of the Crop-a-Dile to get the eyelet to drop out.

5. Here is your faux eyelet. It will curl up slightly as it comes out of Crop-a-Dile.  You can easily flatten it with the end of a marker or your finger.

6. Punch a 1/4" hole with the Crop-a-Dile through the piece of c/stock you wish to attach the eyelet to.

Attach the eyelet with Tombo Multi Glue.  I recommend swiping a small amount of glue from the broad tip.  The pen tip tends to squeeze out too much glue.

Here is a close up of one of the faux eyelets on the card I made earlier today (see previous post):

Thanks for stopping by!