Colorful Easter Bunny Card

By | March 31, 2018
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Just Stamp | Colorful Easter Bunny Card

 

Nothing says Happy Easter better than a cute bunny. Pair the cute bunny with colorful bursts and stripey letters and you have a fun colorful Easter bunny card for all WITHOUT having to own an Easter stamp set. How ’bout that?

Here’s What I Made

Ironically, my colorful card starts with a Whisper White card base cut to measure 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″. It’s scored at 4 1/4″ to create a “standard” card size.

My color combination was taken from the bright and cheery Bubbles & Fizz Designer Series Paper, a Stampin’ Up! Sale-a-Bration free gift. Bermuda Bay, Calypso Coral and Daffodil Delight were inked using the sunburst from the Amazing You stamp set, also a Sale-a-Bration free gift. To add texture and contrast, I also stamped using VersaMark and heat embossed with White Embossing Powder. This created a stunning backdrop for the hand-snipped HAPPY from the Happy Celebrations stamp set.

In place of the A, I slipped in a cute bunny that was hand-snipped from the We Must Celebrate stamp set and colored using Stampin’ Blends. The Labeler Alphabet was used for the Bermuda Bay Easter. I like the labeled letter effect. This stamp set is handy when you need specific words not readily available in one of the gazillion stamp sets on the shelf. ( 😉 Just kidding. I must have “Easter” somewhere … but it’s never the “right” size.)

Here’s a closer look. Even without the word, the bunny purrs “Happy.”

 

Just Stamp | Colorful Easter Bunny Card

 

Here’s What I used to Make a Colorful Easter Bunny Card

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Sale-a-Bration Ends Today

It is no coincidence that today’s card features the Amazing You and Bubbles & Fizz Designer Series Paper. They are hands down two of my favorites from this year’s Sale-a-Bration picks.  Don’t let the chance to get them free slip by. Skip over to my store to shop.  

Happy Easter!

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Easy To Make Easter Card with Peekaboo Bunnies

By | March 25, 2018
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easy to make Easter card

 

 

Wish everyone on your friends and family list a Happy Easter with an easy to make Easter card. Circle punches in a variety of sizes, patterned paper, whimsical bunnies and a witty sentiment make a super cute card in a jiffy.

Here’s What I Did

Cloud patterned paper cut to measure 4″ x 5 1/2″ serves as the background for four peeking bunnies borrowed from the We Must Celebrate 12-piece stamp set featured in the 2018 Occasions Catalog. The main stamp in the set features four cute woodland animals. To make stamping the single bunny easier, I snipped the four critters on the single stamp image apart. Voilá! One stamp became four. On Whisper White cardstock scraps, I stamped the bunnies using Archival Basic Gray ink and colored with Stampin’ Blends (please read my update at the end of this post).

The peep holes were quickly created with the 3/4″, 1″, 1 1/4″ and 1 3/8″ punches. Using Stampin’ Dimensionals, I adhered the bunnies in whimsical positions to the back of the cloud paper. Warning: the backside of the card is unattractive, but once mounted on Daffodil Delight cardstock measuring 4 1/8″ x 5 3/8″, all the unsightly paperwork is quickly hidden.

Finally, I mounted the peekaboo bunnies in the clouds onto a Whisper White Thick Cardstock base using Multi-Purpose Liquid Glue.

The witty sentiment’s origin? Eggstra special wishes came out of the long ago retired Loads of Love Accessories (a set I knew would be a “keeper” for me).

 

We Must Celebrate Easter

Here’s What I Used for the Easy to Make Easter Card

Looking for other easy Easter ideas? Here’s another easy-to-recreate bunny using punches.

Stampin’ Blends Update

The new alcohol markers are amazing. I admit, I was slow to begin using and promoting the new Stampin’ Up! coloring tools. But now, I am totally sold on their merits. So are many crafters, to the extent that Stampin’ Up!’s supply has nearly been depleted. Here’s how Stampin’ Up! has explained the situation.

Extremely long lead times with our supplier, combined with an unexpected increase in demand, has caused many of our current 27-color offering to go on backorder.

At this time, we’ve had to make the difficult decision to make our entire Stampin’ Blends product line unorderable until approximately the end of May. This is not a decision we came to lightly; but with backorders only likely to get worse in the coming weeks, it is in the best interest of the company—and by association, Stampin’ Up! demonstrators—to temporarily make them unavailable.

Be assured that this decision has not been made due to any financial challenges on the part of Stampin’ Up! This is purely due to the rise in demand and the complications we face with our supplier for this particular product line.

We will keep you posted on the availability of Stampin’ Blends as we learn more.

The good news is they will soon be available again. I’ll keep you posted. Thanks for your understanding.

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Holiday Matchbook Treat Holder with FREE PDF Tutorial

By | March 15, 2018
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Just Stamp | Matchbook Treat Holder

Quick and Easy Matchbook Treat Holders

A matchbook treat holder makes a perfect token of friendship anytime, especially for a holiday. For St. Patricks Day, I grabbed a favorite holiday stamp set and punch from Christmases past. That’s right, Christmas!

Cookie Cutter Christmas was a popular favorite when it debuted a couple Christmases ago. Click to see one of my favorite Christmas cards I created with this stamp set and coordinating punch. I said it before and I’ll repeat it again: this set is super cute. If you don’t own it, get it. AND the coordinating punch is a must-have.

For St. Patricks Day, I was inspired by Scottish stamper Kirsteen Gill who ingeniously transformed Santa into a leprechaun. How clever! When I saw her lucky green guy, I was motivated to craft and assemble quick and easy treats for friends and co-workers this St. Paddy’s Day.

Here’s What I Made

Batch of St. Patricks Day Matchbook Treat Holders

After a trip to my fav local chocolate shop founded by Charles, Mary and Florence See, I was well-stocked with tasty Café Latté Krispies. They’re conveniently individually packaged in small envelopes with flaps. I mention this because the matchbook template lends itself so easily to this candy packaging. Here they are. 

Click here for a FREE Step-by-Step PDF tutorial to create the Matchbook Treat Holder.

Here’s What I Used to Make the Matchbook Treat Holder

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How to Make a Cute Valentine From You or Your Dog

By | February 11, 2018
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Just Stamp | How to Make a Cute Valentine

Hearts + Puppy = The Easiest Way to Make a Cute Valentine From You or Your Dog

This is the perfect Valentine card for you or your dog to send anyone on the friends and family card list. It’s sweet and simple. And yes, it can be from you or the family pooch who no doubt was stressing over getting out his Valentines.

Here’s What I Did to Make a Cute Valentine

Crafting this cute card was super quick and super easy. I grabbed my favorite go-to card base: Whisper White Thick Card Stock. Next, I cropped a giant heart in the heart pattern paper from the Sale-a-Bration Bubbles & Fizz Designer Series Paper.

I cracked open the Bella & Friends stamp set that is stinkin’ cute for any occasion. I’ve used the set for thank you cards, Christmas, birthdays and now Valentines. You can see a card set I shared when I first inked up the set here. Here’s the Christmas gift card holder I made.

I picked the Bella-with-her-bone-looking-right-at-YOU image and stamped her right in the center of the heart shape cutout. Watercolor Pencils and a Blender Pen stylized her to resemble my sister’s dog, but you can color her any color and give her spots, highlights or texture. To add dimension, I attached the heart layer using Stampin’ Dimensionals. Two more hearts — one Gold Foil, one sentiment — were adhered next to the Bella along with a gold and brushstroke embellishment cropped using the Petals & More Thinlits Dies and the Painted with Love Specialty Designer Series Paper.

I did use the Valentines Day Sure Do Love You stamp set from the 2018 Stampin’ Up! Occasions Catalog, but when you make a cute Valentine it isn’t necessary to own a Valentines Day stamp set. The Valentines theme can be expressed through colors, images everyone loves (think flowers, cupcakes, critters …) and of course, hearts. Most of these tools are probably already in a papercrafter’s tool chest.

Here’s What I Used to Make a Cute Valentine

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Stampin’ Blends Introduction Class Registration Now Open

By | January 27, 2018
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Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018
2-5 pm
Studio 5425
Register by Feb. 10

I’m so excited to introduce my February class today: the Stampin’ Blends Introduction Class. In this class, we’ll be creating six cards (two of three designs) and adding color with the Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers. Stampin’ Up!’s new premier alcohol markers are the easiest tool to add color. No more streaks and visible strokes — everyone becomes an artist. The dual tipped, high quality markers come in light and dark shades in a rainbow of colors. They blend so easily with no choppy lines or harsh brush strokes. Of course they coordinate with the Stampin’ Up! paper and ink colors, too. You can read more about them and see the full color chart here.

Want to try the new artist-quality Blends? Join me for class. We’ll talk about all the features and benefits, and learn how to best color and care for them. You’ll learn lots of useful tips. Tuition includes the Daffodil Delight and Old Olive Combo packs, and the must-have Color Lifter, plus all supplies and the use of my tools. RSVP and pre-payment by Feb. 10 is a must since these materials are ordered and prepped JUST FOR YOU! Register here.

Check out the Stampin’ Up! video tutorial.

 

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Watercoloring with Brusho and Birthday Blooms

By | January 20, 2018
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Birthday Blooms with Brusho

Brusho Crystal Colour Makes Everyone an Artist

Stampin’ Up! has added a new color medium to the menu of coloring tools. On page 26 of the new Occasions catalog you will eye the Brusho Crystal Color that hails from Sheffield, England. The small kit of five colors includes Prussian Blue, Brilliant Red, Camboge, Yellow and Moss Green. I love the kit!

Sprinkle the crystals. Spritz them. Brush them. The possibilities are great. And the results are impressive for all of us who claim we have no artistic talent.

Here’s a Close Look

Brusho Birthday Blooms Zoom

Here’s What I Did

I stamped the largest bloom from the Birthday Blooms stamp set on Watercolor Paper with my Archival Basic Black ink pad. To add my color, I used the simplest watercolor technique.

  • First, shake a small amount of the Yellow crystals onto an acrylic sheet.
  • Next, dip an Aqua Painter into the crystals and  lightly brush a small section of the image at a time. For more intense, vibrant color on the petal lines and select petals, dip the Aqua Painter in more crystals and color.

So. Easy. I was impressed with my new art skills. You will be too.

After watercoloring the bloom, I added another technique to my art.

  • First, I created a mask using a Post-It note.
  • Next, I covered my watercolored bloom, grabbed the Prussian Blue container and sprinkled a few crystals around the bloom.
  • Then, I held a Stampin’ Spritzer filled with water about 8-10 inches away from the image and lightly sprayed. This created light flecks of color around the bloom to coordinate with the cardbase color of Marina Mist.

Considering the minute amount of crystals needed, these small containers should last FOREVER! But be warned, you will want to start experimenting with other techniques this great medium offers.

Here’s What I Used

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Thanksgiving Sampler or Family Scrapbook Page with Count My Blessings Stamps

By | November 23, 2017
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Here’s What I Made

Just Stamp | Blessings Sampler

Happy Thanksgiving! Today is the day most of us sit down and express our gratitude for all the blessings in our lives. Thank goodness there’s a special day on the calendar for it, because sometimes we get caught up in the whirlwind of day-to-day life.

I’m sharing my twist on Sampler Framed Art with a Thanksgiving Sampler. During Stampin’ Up!’s recent convention, I fell for the beautiful sampler displays created by talented demonstrators. I decided to give it a try, adding some family photos. Now I have either a Framed Art Sampler of a scrapbook page.

If you are on my mailing list, you will receive a free tutorial for a Christmas Sampler within the next two days.

Just Stamp | Blessings Sampler Zoom

 

Here’s What I Used

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Coming Monday! Free Holiday Help Tutorials for Newsletter Subscribers

By | November 17, 2017
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Just Stamp | Holiday Help 2017

It’s beginning to look a lot like the holidays. If you’re like me, the holidays sneak up on me every year. Before I know it, it’s Dec. 24 and I’m frantically trying to wrap, tag, and delivery my holiday cheer.

Good news! I have six days full of free holiday project ideas ready to share with all newsletter subscribers. These ideas include step by step tutorials for gift giving, decorating, and card making.

To receive the free tutorials, your name and email address must be on my newsletter subscriber list by this Sunday at 12 PST. My Six Days of Holiday Help tutorials will begin arriving in your mailbox on Monday morning.

Want to receive your free tutorials delivered straight to your inbox every morning? Just add your name and primary email address in the Sign Up box to the right now.  Click Sign Up and you’re on the delivery list.

While you are waiting for your first delivery, please visit my Holiday Store today and again Monday to grab the great Cyber Week deals.

Be sure to sign up for my mailing list to receive my Six Days of Holiday Help newsletters beginning Monday. Thanks for clicking by!