For the Birds!

Have you ever seen a craft project and been drawn to sit right down to make it yourself? That happened to me the last time I was browsing the 2013-2014 Annual Catalog and came across the birdhouse on page 85:

 

 

Here's my version:

It's made using the Milk Carton Die (with a Big Shot, of course) and the Bird Builder Punch.  Texture is added to the roof to give the look of shingles sending a piece of Early Espresso Core'dinations cardstock through the Big Shot in the Fancy Fan Embossing Folder. Embossing half of the roof at a time by sticking the cardstock only half way in the folder will make the shingles the same on both sides of the roof. Sanding the cardstock adds even more depth, bringing out the lighter core color.

 

By the way, I don't have the Polka-Dot Pieces stamp set that was used in the catalog. Instead, I simply punched the bird and branch shapes out of different pieces of paper from a pack of This and That Epic Day DSP.

It's funny, even though I've poured over the catalog many a times since it first came out, I still seem to discover something new almost every time I browse its pages! If you haven't had a chance to check it out, click HERE to see the PDF version. It's also available for FREE through Google Catalogs on your iPad. You can also order one from me by emailing me at bbstampin at yahoo dot com or through my shopping page HERE. 

 

Happy Stampin!

Brenda



Sketchin' Mojo

There's nothing like a sketch to get the creative juices flowing when you've been in a creative mojo drought.  What's a sketch, you may ask... it's the basic outline of a card layout idea.  It gives your mojo a little nudge that hopefully turns into a storm of stampin'!  Here's a sketch that my friend, Bente posted on her new blog:

Bente actually found the sketch on another blog dedicated to, none other than, sketches! Check it out: Freshly Made Sketches.  If you want to really challenge yourself, create a card using the sketch and then enter it in their contest.

Since I've been in a creative drought, this could not have come at a better time!  Thanks for the inspiration, Bente! 

Once I made the bed, dropped the kid off at school, ran the dog (while I biked) and fulfilled my 2 cup of coffee quota, I sat down at my craft desk and got to work.  I knew exactly what set would work perfectly for this card and what pack of paper I would pull from.  They are both from the new Holiday Mini... err... I mean Catalog.  It's not exactly "mini" anymore... it's big!  I used the Friendship Preserves Bundle (which includes the Friendship Preserves stamp set & Window Frames Framelits Dies) from page 30 and the Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Stack from page 20.  You can view the catalog online through my website. 

Here's what I came up with:

I also used the Framed Tulips Embossing Folder, Victoria Crochet Trim and 3/8" Not Quite Navy Taffeta Ribbon.

Now it's your turn to put your spin on it! 

Happy Stampin!
Brenda

A Pocketful of...

Well, I stamped again yesterday... and the day before that and the day before...  You could say I'm on a roll!  It helps that there are so many card giving occasions in May and that I've scheduled a stampin' farewell party on May 24!  BTW, you're invited!  My house in Pensacola (email me for the addy) between 1-3pm!  The make-n-takes will be featuring some of the retiring Stampin' Up! products.  If you can't make it but would like to place an order, contact me or order online.

I'm not going to show you the make-n-take projects (yet), but I will show you the birthday card I made for my hubby...

Stamp Set: Delightful Dozen

Paper/Ink: Pocketful of Posies (RETIRING), Baja Breeze, Early Espresso, Night of Navy, Whisper White, Crumb Cake

Punches: 1 3/4" & 1 1/2" circle, Decorative Label

Accessories: Night of Navy 1/4" grosgrain ribbon (RETIRING), Mini Library Clips (RETIRING)

Big Shot Die: Timeless Type Junior Alphabet Sizzlits (RETIRING)

I didn't realize it while I was making it, but it's fitting that I used the paper I did on this card--Pocketful of Posies.  No, my hubby isn't a posy... what is a posy anyway?  No, because inside the card I made a POCKET!  See!

I needed to design the card around being able to fit an 8 1/2" x 11" folded piece of paper.  So I trimmed a 12" x 12" piece of cardstock down to 10" x 8 1/2" and scored it at 4 1/2" 8 1/2".  To create the window, I punched the Decorative Label punch twice, overlapping about 1/2" to create a longer opening.  The pocket edges are secured with eyelets (long retired), set with the Crop-A-Dile (RETIRING).  You could also use brads or staples.

Well, I hope you've been on a roll with stampin' lately too!  If not, come to my party next week and I'll do my best to inspire you!  I have a few other events scheduled for June & July too.  Check MY CALENDER for the details.

Happy Stampin!
Brenda

I'M BACK with a Simply Enchanted Card

I'm back in business!  It's hard to believe it's been almost 5 months since I last blogged.  Now that I've finished the bulk of my cancer treatment, I'm hoping to post more regularly. 

Last Saturday I held my first stampin' class in 9 months!  Here's one of the projects we did--it's a simple card idea that will help showcase your collection of gorgeous Designer Series Papers!

This particular card features the Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper (126154) that you can only earn for FREE during Sale-A-Bration!  If you're not familiar with what Sale-A-Bration is, it's the best time of year to stock up on papercrafting supplies because with every $50 you spend (before s/h & tax) you get to choose an item in the Sale-A-Bration brochure for FREE!  Click HERE to view the brochure.

Can you guess how I rounded the bottoms of the strips of DSP?  Here's a clue, I used the 1 1/4" circle punch (119861). 

Still not sure? 

Well, I can't take credit for this technique.  In fact, even after I read the directions on how to do it, I still messed it up.  So, I figured a picture would be a better way for me to show exactly how it's done.

Cool, huh!

Here's a list of the other products I used on this card:
Curly Cute stamp set (117014 wood/120510 clear)
Beautiful Wings Embosslit Die (118138)
Big Shot Die Cut Machine (113439)
Flower punch from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (118309)
Linen Thread (104199)
Basic Pearls (119247)
Early Espresso Card Stock (119686) & Classic Ink Pad (119670)
Naturals Ivory Card Stock (101849)
Stamping Sponges (101610)

You can place an order anytime on my website.  Click HERE to start shopping!

Happy Stampin!
Brenda

What's the BIG DEAL about the BIG SHOT?

Can you say FREE??!!!! 

Check out this AWESOME October Special:

If you've ever dreamed of becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator or simply love a GREAT DEAL, you need to click on the LINK to my website for the details of this special offer that's only available during October.  Along with a FREE BIG SHOT (a $99.95 value), you will receive over $345 worth of Stampin' Up! products and business supplies, all for only $175 (plus tax)!  That's a $445 value!

So whether you'd like to be a business-minded demo or a hobby demo, I'd love to help you make your dreams come true!  Contact me today!

Happy Stampin!
Brenda
bbstampin@yahoo.com
850.466.3585

Basket of Crafts Galore!

My son's school held a fundraiser last month.  I volunteered to put together the raffle basket for my son's class.  Can you guess what theme I went with???  CRAFTS!  The whole class contributed to the basket and it was a general craft theme, so it included all sorts of fun items from various local craft stores, along with lots of Stampin' Up! products (of course!).  It was worth over $500! 

As you an see, I went with a taken with teal & chocolate chip color theme!  So, I dug through my retired paper stash and put together a cool banner.  Check it out:

I used the Broadsheet Alphabet stamp set to spell CREATE.  The base of the banner was made using the same technique as the magnetic bookmark in my last post.  Only, I made them much shorter by sliding the folded edge down a bit before running the Two Tags Die thru the Big Shot.  To get the long tail of the R to fit on the 1 3/8" circle, I cut it out and glued it onto the circle afterwards.  It's hard to see in this picture, but there are Basic Rhinestones stretigically placed on each letter to add some more bling to the basket.  

I was so happy with how the basket turned out that I even bought some tickets and tried to win it back!  But it wasn't my lucky night.  You should have seen how excited the woman who did win it was... WOW!  That made all the "strenuous" hours I spent shopping, crafting and putting it together totally worth it!

I'm sure she's HAPPY STAMPIN & CRAFTIN!

Brenda

Simply Cute Sale-A-Bration Send Off!

Wow!  I can't believe it's been 2 months since I last posted!  It's not for the lack of projects to share... Since tomorrow (March 31) is the last day of Sale-A-Bration, I thought I'd share a couple super simple & cute (if I do say so myself) projects that use the Punch Bunch stamp set that you could get for FREE when placing an order of $50 (before shipping & tax). 

First is this magnetic bookmark:

The base of the bookmark was made using the Two Tags Bigz Die (with the Big Shot).  I folded a 2" x 8 1/2" piece of River Rock card stock in half and set it on the die so that the fold was just inside the cut/stitch lines on the top.  The stamp was inked using our Stampin' Write Markers and then punched out using the 1 3/8" circle punch, layered on a 1 3/4" Scallop Circle punch.  The magic of this bookmark is created with two strips of magnet attached on the inside of each flap.  This would be a great use for those promotional magnetic business cards you probably have cluttering your fridge or stuffed in the back of your junk drawer.  Just cut them into 3/4" strips and use a good strong glue (Sticky Strip or Multipurpose Adhesive) to attach them to the bookmark,.  If you don't have any scrap magnets laying around to recycle, Stampin' Up! does sell Magnet Sheets (Item 119816/Pkg of 3 sheets, 6" x 13") for $9.95.  That would make A LOT of bookmarks!

The other project I'm going to share with you may look vaguely familiar.  I've reused the mini post-it note cover idea that I blogged about last year--click HERE to see that post, which includes the directions. 

I found the size of this cute little post-it note cover is the perfect size for the 2-Step Owl Punch...

AND, the Punch Bunch stamp set has this cute little coordinating owl stamp!  The glittery heart was punched out using the little heart on the 2-Step Owl Punch and the Glimmer Paper (Item# 121790/2 sheets 12" x 12").  It gives you all the sparkle, but none of the mess of using glue and glitter! 

Wondering what the inside looks like?  Here you go:

If you'd like to get some FREE STAMPS OR ACCESSORIES during Sale-A-Bration, click HERE and start shopping!  For every $50 you spend, you get to choose one item!  There's no limit!

Tomorrow is also the last day you can take advantage of the awesome special on the Demonstrator Starter Kit--15% off the starter kit price and a special $50 bundle!  Click HERE for the details. There is also an additional incentive for the next person to sign up under me, you will also receive a stamp set from the upcoming Summer Mini Catalog before it goes live (May 1)!  You can sign up directly through my website.  Just click on the JOIN NOW link and fill out the paper-less paperwork. 

Feel free to call or email me if you have any questions or would like to chat about becoming a demo!  My contact information is on my website.

Happy Stampin!
Brenda Bromen

Use What's On Your Table Challenge

So, what does your craft space look like today?  Are your creative juices stewing amongst piles of scraps and various parts and pieces left over from past projects?  Well, I want to share a challenge that my friend, Ellie posted on Facebook today--USE WHAT'S ON YOUR TABLE! 

Here's what I came up with:

I will admit, I had to use something that wasn't on my table when I got up to use the letterpress plate (Heart Pressed) in my Big Shot.  I actually got lucky, because I had started this project yesterday and hit a creative block.  I guess it took committing to someone that I would actually complete something to get over that block. 

The color combo came from a card I saw in the January issue of Stampin' Up!'s demonstrator magazine, Stampin' Success.  One of the awesome perks of being a demo!  I would have never thought to use Marina Mist on a Valentine's card, but I think it really works.

The letterpress plate is new to me.  It's in the Occasions Mini Catalog, along with the Glimmer Paper (that I punched the big heart out of).  For this card, I inked up the letterpress plate with a Versamark Ink Pad, instead of an actual colored ink pad.  This created a more subtle background.

Here's a close-up so you can see the details:

 
   So, now that you've seen one of the projects I came up with by using what's on my table... give it a try for yourself! 

Happy Stampin!
Brenda

A Quick Gift Idea: Personalized Stationery Gift Set!

Happy New Year, my crafty friends!

I want to share a last minute gift I created last month. As the hours were winding down before we were to leave on our Christmas vacation to visit family, I needed to come up with a gift for my husband’s grandma. Knowing she’s one of the few people who still enjoy sending and receiving handwritten letters, I thought what better gift than to create a set of personalized stationery for her!

Having just received my preorder for new stampin’ goodies from the Occasions Mini catalog, I wanted to use the Framed Tulips Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (Pg 28/121809/$7.95). It would add the perfect touch to a set of monogrammed note cards.

I suppose I could have just wrapped the note cards in some pretty ribbon and left it at that. But I decided to make a little something to hold the cards, envelopes and coordinating pen instead.

The base of the notecard folder was created out of a single 8 ½ x 11 sheet of card stock.

• Score at 2” and 2 ¼” along one of the long edges, then turn 90 degrees and score at 5” and 5 ½”.

• Cut out the 2 ¼” x ½” scored section to create the flaps inside the folder. Cut at a slight diagonal along the inside edges of the flaps (see picture below).

• Secure the outer edges of the flaps with eyelets (brads or staples could also be used).

• Decorate as desired.

The monogram is stamped using the Lovely Letter Alphabet set and then punched out using the 1" circle punch.  That is then layered with a 1 1/4" circle and 1 3/4" scallop circle.  I snipped in between each scallop for the monogram on the cover of the folder to add a bit more texture.
 

 
I hope this inspires you to create a quick gift for someone special.  Before you do, be sure to tell me what you think!  Your comments are what motivates me to continue blogging!  Thanks!

If you haven't already, be sure to check out the NEW Occasions Mini Catalog!  Click HERE to start shopping!

Happy Stampin!
Brenda

Get "Black Friday" Deals All Week Long!

Whether you're still in the market for supplies for your holiday crafting projects or looking for a gift for that special someone, Stampin' Up! is offering an Online Spectacular Sale that may just help you save some money!  Consider it Stampin' Up!'s version of "Black Friday"... but 9 days long!

Just one example of the amazing deals... My Digital Studio software is 50% off... that's just $39.98! 

A selection of Fabric, Dies, Stamps, Embellishments, Decor Elements, Digital Downloads... anywhere between 20% - 50% off!

There are too many great deals to list them all on my blog, so click HERE to check them all out and start shopping!  In case you didn't notice on the above photo, there is also FREE SHIPPING on online orders of $150 or more.  AND, don't forget!  All orders of $150 or more earn hostess benefits! 

If this is just too much exciting news to take in and you have any questions, feel free to call me!  My contact info is on my official Stampin' Up! website.

Happy Stampin!

Brenda

'Tis the Season... to get stampin' and become a demo!

Wow, have I been negligent with my blog or what?!  Sorry about that!   To make it up to you, how about I share the projects we made at my recent Christmas Card Stamp-A-Stack classes?  Here you go:

I hope these cards inspire you to get started on your own Christmas cards, if you haven't started working on them already.  If you have any questions or would like more details about any of the cards, feel free to ask... either comment on my blog (ALWAYS APPRECIATED) or email me at: bbstampin at yahoo dot com. 

In case you haven't already heard, there's an awesome demonstrator starter kit promotion going on right now (Nov 15-30)--50% off the regular starter kit price!  That's only $87.50 for over $310 worth of stampin' and business supplies!  That is such a great deal, I wish I could sign up again to take advantage of it!  Check out what you get with the Digital+ Starter Kit... just the My Digital Studio software retails for $79.95.  So, for another $7.55 you will also receive 2 wood-mounted stamp sets, a clear-mount stamp set, 2 packs of card stock, 4 Classic ink pads, 2 markers, buttons, ribbon, dimensionals, Stampin' Scrub and Mist, Glue Dots, Snail... SEE WHAT I MEAN?!!!  Here's the flyer:

Or click HERE to go directly to my website for additional details.  If you're ready to take the plunge or have any questions, be sure to contact me before this awesome deal ends on November 30!  Just so you know, signing up is super simple and can be done right on my website!  All you need is my special password to get started!  Call or email me!  My phone number is on my website.

Happy Stampin!

Brenda

Sweet Baby Rag Quilt

Our extended Bromen family is growing by leaps and bounds.  The newest addition is my sweet baby niece, Elizabeth.  Here's the flannel rag quilt and tag I made for her.

The pieces of the quilt were cut out using the scallop square die and the Big Shot, which happens to be what I also cut the tag out with. The quilt is 10 x 10 rows and measures just under 36".

If you've never made a rag quilt, you basically sandwich a smaller piece of batting (3 1/2" square for this project) in between 2 layers of fabric and sew diagonally in both directions (creating an X).  Once you have all of your pieces X'd, sew them together into rows with a 1/2" seam allowance.  Then sew the rows together to create the final quilt.  You'll have one side that has the raw edges and the other side that is smooth.  So that the raw edges will fray and create the cool ragged look, you will then need to clip all the edges every 1/4", which works out to be in between each scallop and then in the middle of edge scallop.  After you've clipped all the edges (being careful not to clip through the seams) wash the quilt with some jeans (not towels or they'll end up with lots of fuzzies).  Be sure to check your dryer's lint trap because it gets quite full. 

In case you were wondering about the tag, I used Pick a Petal, Fabulous Phrases & Just Perfect Alphabet stamp sets.  The designer eyelet in the center of the flower is from a retired kit from awhile back.  You could definitely use one of the many designer brads in our current catalog to get a similar look.  And finally, the ribbon is tied around one of Stampin' Up!'s cool library clips. 

Another baby is expected to make his or her grand entrance into the world in the very near future.  I'll be back to share another handmade baby gift with you very soon! 

Not sure if you can tell, but I love crafting for babies!

Happy Stampin!

Brenda

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

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

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

Scrappin' Recipes

As I continue with the National Scrapbooking Month theme during May, I'll show you a fun way to organize your special family recipes. Unless you're a Bush (from the baked bean company), then you'll want to add a lock and key to this idea. :) Since my recipes are not secrets, I like the idea of creating a pretty book and scrapping mini recipe pages.

I started with a 6x6 ring bound scrapbook. This is one of Stampin' Up!'s albums and I'm predicting it will be soon retiring, since it's Mellow Moss--a retiring color. So, if you want this exact album for your own recipes, order it now (105391) through my website! I chose a ring bound album so that I can add and rearrange my recipes easily. A post bound album would make that more complicated.

The cover is decorated with Decor Elements. The flower is a Demo sample. If you were to host a workshop with me, I could start the process of decorating your recipe album with one of these. Give me a call! The title was cut out using the Timeless Type Junior Sizzlits Alphabet Dies (115951) and a roll of Chocolate Chip Decor Elements sheet (114337).

Now for the pages. I used the From the Kitchen of stamp set (114964) for the recipe cards. The rest of the pages are decorated with card stock, designer papers and stickers from a Simply Scrappin' Kit. There is really no wrong way to do this. Treat your recipe like a photo and SCRAP IT! Since they're small pages (6x6), they are fun and easy to create. It would also be a great way to use up scraps you have leftover from other projects.

I will say that this Recipe Book only contains my very special recipes. They may not be secret, but they are definitely tried and true recipes that my family loves. Who wants to spend all that time and energy scrappin' a crappy recipe?! NOT ME!

Happy Stampin & Scrappin!
Brenda

I'm Scrappin Again!

Since May is National Scrapbooking Month, I set a goal to get scrappin' again. Here's a simple page I recently completed:

It's hard to see in the picture, but I created a background paper with the Red, White & Blue Jumbo Wheel in the Summer Mini Catalog. I used an uninked cartridge filled with Versamark ink to create a subtle watermark look.

To create the title box, I used a combination of the Rough Type alphabet (Summer Mini), Calendar Alphabet & Numbers, Timeless Type Junior Alphabet Sizzlits Dies, Service & Sacrifice, Large Star & 1" Circle Punches and sponging around the edges.

I love using alphabet stamps on my scrapbook pages. There are so many styles to choose from! And, better yet, I never run out of letters!

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So, tell me, have you been scrappin?!

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Hope you're Happy Stampin & Scrappin!

Brenda

Happy Mother's Day!

This will be a relatively quick post because my family is making me breakfast this morning and I don't want to miss out on a nice hot meal... that I didn't have to make! :)


The boxes that come with the Simply Adorned charms & chains just scream to be decorated. They are like little chocolate chip colored blank canvases. Here are a couple that I decorated--one for Mother's Day and one for a birthday gift:

Supplies: Teeny Tiny Wishes, Flower Designer Brads, 1 1/4 & 1 1/2 Square Punches, Tag & Small Tag Punches, Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon and Pink Flamingo Designer Series Paper.


The belly bands were actually made to go around 2 boxes (one with the charm and one with the chain) side-by-side. The ribbon sort of hides that fact. Here's a peek at one of the charms:

The J is stamped with basic black craft ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I had to use tweezers to hold the small square while embossing it. I suppose it would have been a smarter idea to stamp and heat set it before cutting it into a 1" square. However, I did stamp & emboss a J on the opposite side which is a Tempting Turquoise pattern, so it's reversible.

Supplies: All Holidays, Simple Friendship, Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die (from the Occasions Mini, which is still available to purchase), Big Shot, a retired designer paper that I had in my stash and the same punches as the other project.

I hope y'all have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Happy Stampin!

Brenda

Eggs in a basket...

Here's a project I came up with for my Spring Fling classes this week.

It's an Easter spin on the flower pot pocket card. If you've never seen that type of card, instead of the eggs, there are flowers. Since I don't have a large flower punch or die, I decided to use the wide oval punch to make a basket of eggs instead. Here's what the tag looks like pulled out:

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Accessories: Wide Oval Punch, Jewelry Tag Punch, Scallop Trim Border Punch (SAB), Perfect Details Texturz Plate, Organza Ribbon, Razzleberry Lemonade DSP & Paper Trimmer with scoring blade


Basic directions for making the basket:

• Score a 8 1/2" x 3 1/2" piece of card stock at 1 1/2" and 5".
• Fold the shorter flap forward to create the brim of the basket and the other flap back.
• Punch edge of brim with border punch.
• To create the side angles of the basket: Mark at 1/4" from each side at the bottom fold. Unfold brim (keeping the rest folded) and then use a paper trimmer to cut straight from the fold of the brim to the marked edge.
• Fold the brim back down and run entire thing through Big Shot with texturz plate.
• Punch a bunch of wide ovals out of designer series paper--I used 7 on this card.
• The outside layer of the tag measures 2 3/4" x 4 3/4", inside layer is 2 1/2" x 4 1/2".
• Place tag inside basket and arrange eggs as desired--keeping in mind the size of a standard 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card so you will be able to use a standard envelope. Using a piece of grid paper or template under your card will help with that.
• Carefully remove tag holding all the eggs in place and then attach eggs to tag starting with the eggs in the back, being careful to only put adhesive where they will attach to the tag. Be sure to remove any excess adhesive so the tag doesn't get stuck in the basket forever.
• Tie a 15" piece of ribbon around the brim of the basket, this holds the whole thing together. Embellish as desired.
• Tuck your tag in the basket and enjoy!

Don't forget, Sale-A-Bration ends on March 31! If you like the border punch I used on this card, be sure to take advantage of this promotion to get it for FREE before it's too late! If you don't know what Sale-A-Bration is, check out the link to the brochure----> Basically, you get to choose something for free out of the brochure for every $50 you spend!

Sale-A-Bration is also an awesome time to take the plunge into becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator! The starter kit is discounted 15% and you also get to choose an extra stamp set (up to $47.95 value)! Contact me if you would like more information about becoming a demo.

Happy Stampin!

Brenda Bromen