Update on the Stamping Roulette Shopping Spree Drawing

I wanted to post a quick update on the Stamping Roulette promotion going on right now.  The board is filling up and we have only two more days (until midnight Oct 1st) to fill the board to get the bonus drawing for an extra $20 gift certificate.

So, in case you missed it, here is how the game works.  You have three ways to earn spaces on the board.  When the board is filled up, I will spin the wheel and one lucky person will receive a $50 shopping spree! 

To earn a spot on the board:

1.  For every $25 you spend with me, you will receive a number on the board.  Yep, that’s right, spend $25 and you could win $50!

2.  New! Host a workshop with me in October and receive a free space.  I offer workshops in your home or workshops in a box for folks who live to far away for an in-home workshop.

3.  Thinking of becoming a demonstrator?  Join my team and get 3 free numbers on the board!

If the board fills up by October 1st, I will spin a second time for an extra $20 shopping spree! 

So contact me at jennifer@nwstamper.com or shop online now to reserve your chance to win big!

Tons of Tools Card and Embellished Envelope

Sunday was this month’s Technique Night with my meetup group and by request, I did a night that was focused on going over many of the tools you might encounter on your crafting journey including:

• The BigShot
• Aqua and Blender pens for water coloring
• Crimpers
• Bone Folders
• Paper Piercing tools
• Heat and Dry Embossing
• the Crop-a-Dile for eyelet setting and hole punching
• the Stamp-a-ma-jig for exact stamp image placement
• Color spritzers
• And paper punches

So, we ended up using all of these tools on the following two projects.

First we used a Whisper White envelope (since it uses the same type of paper as Whisper White CS, these envelopes take ink and stamping really well!) Trim off 1 1/4” from one of the short sides of the envelope.  Then we used the scallop edge punch on the smaller piece.  For the larger piece, we stamped and used the color spritzer to scatter Soft Suede ink on both sides of the envelope.  Then we ran the big piece through the crimper.  Watercolor the stamped image using the covers of classic ink pads and a watercolor pen, add a punched out scallop square, and adhere and you are pretty much done.  We punched two holes through both the top and bottom pieces of the envelope so we could run ribbon through to tie the envelope closed.

Next we made this card:

This card used the BigShot for making the dots on the white paper.  Then we used the brayer to lightly go over the dots to give them some color.  We did dry embossing on the Rich Razzleberry CS using some holes I punched out some Chipboard with the Simple Alphabet Dies for the BigShot.  We stamped the flower image from the Vintage Vogue stamp set, used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to place the text below the flower and then heat embossed using black embossing powder (don’t forget to use the embossing buddy to ensure you don’t get stray embossing powder flecks!).  Used the crop-a-dile to set the jumbo eyelet; and then finally used the super, awesome mat pack and paper piercer to punch the row of holes below the Rich Razzleberry CS.  Oh, and we used the bone folder and the groove in the paper cutter to score the card so we had a nice crisp fold.

Whew!  That’s a lot of tools, but it was lots of fun.

If you are interested in any of the tools used for these projects, you can get them now through my online store .  Plus –  if your total is $25 or more you will be entered into my drawing for a $50 gift certificate!

My favorite tools are the BigShot and the Mat Pack.  What are yours?

A Handmade Wedding Book and Card

I’m back!  I had such a blast in Vegas. This was my first vacation since having my son, and though I missed him, it was great to have adult time and he got some quality time with Grandma. We also lucked in to a crazy room upgrade – we got a room on the “50”th floor looking at the Bellagio fountains! Amazing!

We were there for our friends wedding and so I had made them a book to save the photos and memories of this trip.  I got the supplies and learned the binding technique at a store demonstration when visiting my mom.  Now that I get how it works, I’m going to see if I can replicate it with Stampin’ Up! supplies.

I had the book all ready to go, but still needed to make a card, so I took my supplies with me and planned to put it together in Vegas.  Well, I discovered when unpacking that I completely forgot my clear mounts!  So I had to get a little creative so I could mount my sentiment. Turns out, if you are desperate, you can use the stamp case as a mount.  It doesn’t work as well as a clear block, but it will work!

But in the end, I was able to pull together a card that I love and was so happy to give to them while celebrating this awesome time for them.

Wedding Card Recipe:
Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Occasional Quotes
Ink: Blushing Bride, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Whisper White CS, Chocolate Chip CS, Blushing Bride CS
Accessories: Adhesive Back Pearls, Victoria Crochet Trim Ribbon, Small Heart Punch

Share the love!

One thing I forgot about hotels is that they charge an arm and a leg for internet access. So watch for new blog posts when I’m back in the land of free internet this Sunday. I have more samples to share and just need to get them uploaded.

I also will be updating the Stamping Roulette board as well with the recent orders. There are
still spots available. Don’t miss your chance to win a $50 shopping spree!

Viva Las Vegas! A chance to win a $50 gift certificate

My first vacation since my wonderful baby boy was born is almost here!  My husband and I will be traveling to Las Vegas to watch our very good friends get married.  This is extra special for me because it was my invitation to a night of rock climbing at a local gym that got my two friends to meet and now, look what happened!

Of course while we are in Vegas we’ll be staying at one of the casino hotels and as I was thinking about this, I thought, why not share the Vegas fun on my blog!

Introducing Stamping Roulette!

So, here is how it works.  I have a modified Roulette board with each spot available for a name.  Here is how to play:

• When you place a $25 order with me, you get a spot on the board.
• Place a $50 order, you get two spots on the board, $75… you get the idea.
• If you decide now is the time to join my team, you get 3 spots on the board just for signing up!

Once the board is full, I’ll spin the wheel and where the ball lands gives the person on that number a $50 shopping spree!  That’s right, that $25 order could land you a $50 shopping spree.

Bonus Spin:
Since I’m feeling lucky – if we fill the board by Oct 1st, I will spin the wheel a second time and give away another $20 gift certificate.  Both online and offline orders count for this promotion.

Visit my online store or email me at jennifer@nwstamper.com to pick your spot on the board!

Experimenting with the Stampin’ Up! Letterpress Dies

As I mentioned last week, I received the new Letterpress Dies and made my first card using the method recommended on the packaging.  However, I’m not always good with rules and recommendations and so I had to start experimenting myself with how these dies worked with different inks, paper, and BigShot “sandwich” combinations.

I wanted to share my results with you so you could try some of these ideas out yourself or avoid the methods that didn’t work so well.

But first – a new sample using the bigger Trick or Treat letterpress die:

The green ribbon in the Pumpkin Pie button is actually the 1/4” Old Olive grosgrain ribbon cut in half.  If you do this to thread through a button, I highly recommend using a needle to thread it through the holes.  I was using the “wet the end of the ribbon, twist, squint, shove, and hope enough gets through to grab with your fingernails” technique.  Lets just say the ribbon frays much more easily that way.

Experimenting with Paper, Ink, and BigShot techniques

Click Read More to see my experiments with the Letterpress dies including photos for the different papers, inks, and techniques I used.

Sponging up a No Layer Card

Each week, the Late Night Stampers group has some kind of challenge.  This week was particularly intriguing to me as the challenge was to create a single/no layer card.  When I first read this, I thought, “won’t these cards be boring?”  Well, boy was I wrong!  Folks came up with all kinds of cool ways to make a card look interesting without needing lots of layers of paper and embellishments.  So, I took up the challenge and decided to create one myself, no paper layers, no embellishment layers, just paper and ink.

Here is what I came up with:

Using scoring lines and sponging, this card turned out much better than I expected.  I scored the outer frame at about 1” in from the top and the bottom of the card and about 1/2” in from the sides of the card.  Then I scored the inner frame about 1/4” in from the outer frame.  I then masked at the inner frame lines and sponged with Pink Pirouette ink and stamped my flowers using Blushing Bride and Rich Razzleberry.  Next I masked the inner part of the score lines so I could sponge the outer areas with Pink Pirouette and finished it off by sponging the edges of the card in Rich Razzleberry.

Tip:  Did you know that it is easy to score at precise measurements that don’t go to the edge of your paper using a paper cutter and a bone folder?  For a frame like I created above, grab a paper cutter that uses a grooved track for cutting like this one and position your paper to the dimension you want to score.  So, if you were scoring the sides of the frame above, you would put your paper at 3 3/4” so that you are scoring 1/2” in from the side of your 4 1/4” card front.  Then use the bone folder instead of the cutting blade and use the ruler on the cutting track to help you score the length you want – so in this case, from 4 1/2” to 1”.  Keep doing that for each side of your frame, and voila!  You are done!

Need a bone folder or a grooved paper cutter?  You can order them here!

No Layer Card Recipe:
Stamps:  Petal Pizazz, Just Believe
Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Blushing Bride, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive
Paper:  Whisper White CS
Accessories:  Paper cutter, bone folder, sponges

Quick and Simple Vintage Card

I realized in writing this post that the word “vintage’ has a few different meanings.  I’ve seen it used to describe victorian and lace, while other times it is more rough and aged.  Or in this case, when I look at this card and think it looks more western or um..I don’t know… vintage?

Well whatever your definition, this is a fun and easy card that we made at my monthly meet and greet event.  Its quick too which is always a plus when you want to make a card but have a million things on your schedule.

For the stamping on the So Saffron cardstock, we used Versamark ink to give a subtle watermark image of the swirls from the stamp set Priceless.  I love using Versamark this way when I want to add pattern or just kick up some cardstock without having something too in your face.  We punched the strip of Chocolate Chip with the new  dotted scallop ribbon punch.  Add some Chocolate Chip sponging around the Very Vanilla piece and pop the matted, stamped image up on Stampin’ Dimensionals and you have a simple card with a lot of interest.

Tip: If you are going to round the corners of your card, you can put the corners of your closed card into the punch and punch away.  However, if you have more than two layers like in this card (where you have the Real Red for the back of your card, plus Real Red layered with So Saffron for the front of your card), you will need to punch the front corners separately from the back corners.  Ok, it is possible to punch it all at once, but it leaves dimples on your card back and is hard on your punch.

So, does this count as vintage?  I’d love to hear what you think of when you think of creating something with a vintage look!

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I’m getting ready to send out my September Newsletter.  Would you like to receive tips, project ideas, stamping news, and specials delievered to your email each month?  If so, be sure you’re on my mailing list and you’ll be in the loop!  Sign up today!

A Letterpress Card for the Stamping 411 Challenge #168

If you’ve seen the holiday mini, you’ve seen one of the new products Stampin’ Up! just released – the Letterpress Plates.  These plates are made to use with your BigShot and instead of embossing your image by causing the pattern to raise up off your paper, these plates deboss your image – making empressed images that go into your page.  Add some craft ink, and you get imprinted colored images to spiff up your project.

At convention this year, Stampin’ Up! unveiled the plates and then offered a special convention bundle of all the letterpress plates at a discount for convention attendees.  Yet another awesome benefit of being a demo (see even more benefits here).  So, I decided to try them out and after getting my bundle, spent some time this weekend playing with them.  So, today, here is the first card I made with the Northern Trim plate for the Stamping 411 sketch challenge.

I’ve also been playing with different types of papers and inks, so check back later this week as I’ll be posting my results and offering tips for what I’ve found from using the plates.  Until then, here is the video Stampin’ Up! released to show you more possibilities with these plates.

Oh, P.S. – if you are a demo or become a demo when attending their regional seminar, they have another special bundle just for attendees!  Contact me at jennifer@nwstamper.com for more info or find out how to be my guest when I go to the Portland Regionals in October.

 

Demonstrating the Letterpress Dies

Kind Thanks Recipe:
Stamps: Thank You Kindly
Ink:  Always Artichoke Classic ink, Always Artichoke Craft Ink, Rose Red Craft Ink
Paper:  Elegant Soiree DSP, Basic Black CS, Rose Red CS, Confetti White CS, Always Artichoke CS
Accessories:  Basic Black Satin ribbon, Scallop edge punch, Basic Rhinestones, Styled Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware, Modern Label punch, glue dots, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Northwest Stamper Blog Candy Winners!

I wanted to take a minute to thank everyone for stopping by my blog and leaving all the great comments for me.  I really appreciate hearing from you and am glad you like my projects.

When I moved this blog from my old site to here at www.nwstamper.com I announced blog candy with two drawings (original post here).  One drawing for anyone who left me a comment and one for folks who became a fan on facebook.  Well, I did the drawing with some help from my son:

This is a family business, right?  Got to keep them involved. Well, even at 8 months old, he managed to successfully draw a name for each drawing:

And so the winners are:

Brenda Hugar

and

Yvonne Russell!

Ladies, please send me your contact information and that’s again to everyone for entering!  I’m sure there will be more candy opportunities in the future!