Color Challenge--Give Those Unused Colors Some LOVE!

A fellow Stampin' Up! demo of mine, Ellie, put out a challenge to use a color that you rarely (if ever) use on a project.  I took her up on that challenge and chose the color Peach Parfait.  It's a new In-Color and a very vibrant color of orange.  Orange is not one of my go-to colors.  I eased into the challenge with my first card.  It was SUPER simple and actually a CASE'd layout from another fellow demo (can't recall her name). 

So, you might be asking... where is the Peach Parfait?!  Well, it's peeking out from behind the circle on the far right side.  Oh, yes, and at the top of the teeny tiny cupcake.  I also used my Peach Parfait marker on the sayings. 

Although this is a very cute card (if I do say so myself), I didn't feel quite right about putting this card out there with the color challenge.  So, I pulled out a different stamp set (Grunge Rock) and checked my new handy dandy Color Coach to help me come up with another color combination with Peach Parfait.  Right away I was drawn to the top combo suggestion: Not Quite Navy, Pear Pizzazz (another new In-Color) and Peach Parfait.  If you haven't noticed, blues and greens ARE my go-to colors!  I don't think that's cheating though, do you? 

It took me a whole day to put this card together.  I got so far with it yesterday and then got busy doing other stuff.  To tell you the truth, I sort of got stuck with the design process.  So I walked away.  They say that if you get stuck while creating something, it helps to walk away and take a nap.  Your mind supposedly does much of your creative thinking while you're sleeping.  I didn't actually take a nap, but I did eventually go to bed last night.  Well, that worked!  Here's what I came up with:

Along with Grunge Rock, I used the letter U from Jayne's Type Alphabet stamp set.  I think those sets work perfectly together!

Okay, now I'm going to challenge you to dig thru your card stock and ink pads and find a color that you haven't used in awhile.  And show it some LOVE!

Happy Stampin!
Brenda

CASEing the card on the cover of the new Catty

You've probably seen the cover of the new Stampin' Up! catty.  If not, scroll down the blog page a little ways and look on the right sidebar.  There it is!  Click on it to open the pdf file and get a closer look.  Or, if you have good eyesight, just look at the card with the striped Top Note die on the front.  What a fun card, don't you think?!  Well, all of the idea in and on the IDEA BOOK & catalog are there for you (& me) to use for IDEAS and INSPIRATION.  So, I CASE'd the card.  What does that mean, you might ask?  Copy And Share Everything!  So here I am, copying it and now sharing my version with you!

As you can tell, it's a baby card.  I used papers from a retired kit.  Can't recall the name at the moment.  On the base of the giraffe layer is a new die shape--Scallop Rectangle.  It's a Clearlit Die.  I also used the Big Shot to add the texture to the So Saffron layer with a Texturz Plate.  I love those things! 

Aside from the inspiration from the card on the front of the catty, I actually pulled the colors I used from the knitted baby gift I also made.  I guess I got lucky that I had a kit in my stash that included pretty much all the colors that worked perfectly with the hat and booties.  See what I mean:

So, page through the catalog, look around your house, keep your eyes peeled while you're out in the world... inspiration is all around us!

Happy Stampin!
Brenda

EXTRA, EXTRA!!!! Hostesses can earn EXTRA $25 until August 31!

Host a workshop that totals at least $350 (before s/h) and you will earn an EXTRA $25 in hostess benefits!  This is on top of the $40 worth of products and free hostess set you would earn for reaching that level in sales!  Book/email workshops placed directly through me also qualify for this promotion. 

Contact me today to schedule your workshop!

Brenda
bbstampin@yahoo.com

Personalizing Birthday Cards

We were invited to a new neighbor's birthday party a couple weeks ago.  It was actually for a little boy turning one.  I sat down to make a birthday card and quickly came up with this fun monkey card:

But then I remembered the invitation we received had a sealife theme with a crab and decided to stash the monkey card away and make a new card with the crab from the Summer Mini hostess set, It's a Thought.  If you've seen this set, you might be wondering how a frowning crab with the saying "sorry i was crabby" could be useful on a birthday card.  Well, I used the marker to stamp technique to ink just his body (not his frown or the words).  Then I drew in a smile and cut him out.  Here's the card I came up with:

I also used the Tropical Party and Fabulous Phrases stamp sets.  Oh, yeah... and the Calendar Alphabet set to spell Eli's name.  Cute, huh!

Well, about 30 minutes before the party, I was putting the gift in a gift bag and got to thinking... this bag looks pretty boring.  It needs something!  So I came up with this cool crab tag:

The crab tag was made up of a lot of punches and attached to a scallop circle die.  His name was stamped using Just Perfect Alphabet set.  What do you think?  I think it turned out super cute! 

Okay, so fast-foward to a my workshop last week.  Eli's mom, Kristina, came to the party and was browsing my sample table.  When she came across the monkey card, she picked it up and just had to say how cute it was!  I laughed and told her how that was the original card I made for Eli.  She told me that she had been going back and forth between the crab theme and a monkey theme.  How funny is that?! 

Happy Stampin!

Brenda

Rediscovered Inspiration Journal - Cool Color Combo

While unpacking my craft room, I came across a lot of stuff I forgot I had.  One thing in particular that I was excited to find was an inspiration journal where I had stored pictures from magazines and ads that inspired me in some way.  Paging through the journal, this picture jumped out at me:

I love the colors!  Baja Breeze (a former In-Color that has been brought back by Stampin' Up! and is now part of the core color collections), Crumb Cake (formerly known as Kraft) and Early Espresso (NEW).  I quickly pulled out the ink pads and paper and went to work and here's what I came up with:

 

Here's a card I made with a new Level 1 Hostess Set called Because I Care: 

To get the two-toned flowers, I first inked them with Crumb Cake and then sponged around the edges with Early Espresso. I used the marker to stamp technique on the sentiment. Yes, Baja Breeze now comes in a marker!

These next two cards were actually the first complete cards I made while playing with the color combination.  Notice that I was also inspired by the outfit in the picture for the layout of the cards (pattern on top, Whisper White on the bottom, with an Early Espresso strip separating the two).

This first one uses just stamps (Circle Circus & Because I Care), card stock and ink:

Then I spiced it up a bit with some punches (Scallop Edge Border & Itty Bitty Shapes), Bitty Buttons and Linen Thread:

I love how inspiration is all around us.  Taking the time to cut out a picture or sketching an idea into a journal is a great way to capture those inspirations.  That journal got my creative juices flowing after I had a bit of a stampin' dry spell.  (Moving will do that to ya!)  If you don't already have one, consider starting your own inspiration journal.  It doesn't have to be fancy.  Any old notebook will do.  Of course, you can always decorate it to make it pretty if you want. 

Until then, use my inspiration and get stampin!

Happy Stampin!
Brenda

P.S. Please excuse the funky layout of this post.  I'm getting used to the "new" editing features of Blogger.

IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE!

The NEW 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog IS HERE!

Click HERE to download the PDF version or contact me to buy your very own copy. There are so many great new products! You can also check them all out on the SHOP NOW page of my website.

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Happy Stampin!

Brenda

bbstampin@yahoo.com

Farewell to Friends

The hardest part of every move we've made throughout the years is saying good-bye to friends. It's hard leaving them behind! I considered myself lucky to some extent with this move. My best friend, Genean was moving too! Somehow it seemed better that I wasn't leaving her behind. Of course, I don't miss her any less. Here's a little gift I made for her, so she wouldn't forget me. (Yeah, right! Like that would ever happen!)

If you'd like to make your own little banner, cut two 4" x 12" strips of card stock, score strips every 3", accordion fold them and then overlap the 2 strips by a 3" section and adhere. To get the diagonal cuts at the top uniform, cut one corner and then create a template with a scrap piece of card stock. Use the template to cut the rest of the corners. Decorate as desired!

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I already had this little scallop envelope box made up and it worked perfectly as a gift box for the banner!

Sizzix Dies: Serif Essentials, Birds & Blooms, Scallop Envelope

Embellies: Fleurettes, Rhinestone Brads, various ribbon scraps, Bella Rose DSP (retired)

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Happy Stampin!

Brenda