Hello!  I have started a new blog at www.creativeflarecards.blogspot.com - I'll be sharing all my new posts there!

See you on the other side :)
Kristine

25 Scrapbook Borders

Hello!  It's been a crazy creative month around here!   First, I'll admit, that I've been a little stingy with ideas this month because of working on submissions for Stampin' Up's Artisan Design Team.  They're selecting 10 entries out of the thousands that come in every year to be part of a Design Team, so I've been racking my brain for a couple months and trying to come up with new ideas - which I will share this June.

As soon as I had all my submissions sent off, it was time to put together a blank brag book for a friend of mine who's in a job status transition right now, so the book was for her pictures from her current job so she can flip through her favorite memories after moving to her upcoming job.  I'm very excited for her, and we'll still see each other around, but I will miss getting to work together!

The scrapbook borders come from the brag book.  It's a 6 x 6 book, just big enough for journaling on one side and a cropped photo on the other.  The theme was "Ravens" because she was our Raven Team Leader,  the theme colors are Pacific Point, Basic Black, Whisper White and Basic Gray.    The Raven stamp comes from the Dark and Dreary set, item #121151 (cling mount); 120837 (wood mount) available from Stampin' Up through May 31, 2012. Punches and sets are listed as you go...

1. This was a series of 1-1/4 inch strips of paper cut with the Blossom Builder Punch

2a.  Dark and Dreary raven stamped 3 times, the middle raven was stamped on a separate piece of card stock and heat embossed with Basic Black powder, and adhered with a stampin' dimensional.  The edge is trimmed with the Scallop Trim Border punch.

2b.  Close up

3. Paz y Amistad heart globe - one of the Spanish sets from Stampin' Up in the 2011-12 Celebrando Creatividad. 

Used with the Full Heart Punch and Small Heart Punch

4. Here's one of my new favorites:  the Tasteful Trim Bigz  XL Die  -#120893 for the Big Shot die cutting system.  It has 4 different borders/trims 12-1/2 " long for cutting scrapbook borders or fabric and ribbon.

5. Again, the Tasteful Trim Bigz die and the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Punch

6a.  I used the Sunflower background stamp with a Pacific Point  classic ink pad and a

Basic Black Marker to shade the center, and sliced it up and spliced it with Basic Black card stock

6b.

7.  This is a decorative swirl from the Kindness Matters set, stamped 2x on each Large Oval, layered on a Basic Gray Scalloped Oval, all on a Basic Black Extra Large Oval

8.  Punch art with 1" circles, 1-1/4" circles, and the old Decorative Label Punch (discontinued) which can be substituted with the new Ticket Duo Builder Punch coming out June 1, 2012.  

9.  Scallop Trim border punch, 1-3/4 Scallop circle, cut in half, and 3/4" circle, cut in half

10 a. Scallop Trim Border and  Small Oval Punch - Perfect for the Easter party photos! 

10b.

11.  Circle Circus stamp set with circle punches

12.  Again the Tasteful Trim die, ric-rac on a strip of Basic Black

13a.  Tasteful Trim die (large background scallop) Scallop Dotted

Ribbon Border (SDRB) Punch

13b.

14.  Tasteful Trim die again - this time centered for a little variety

15.  Tasteful Trim and the "SDRB" punch again, also with "negative"  cut from border

16.  Tasteful Trim - love it....

17.  Tasteful trim...

18a.  More Tasteful Trim, combined with left over negative space from the black ric-rac...

18b.

19a.  Tasteful Trim with the Small Heart Punch

19b.

20.  Ornament Punch - see my previous blog on how to do this one..

21.  Nature's Nest stamp set, 1" Square Punch,  and the Tasteful Trim die...

22.  Adorning Accents Edgelits die, 1/4" Taffeta Ribbon (Basic Black)

23.  Tribute to our retired Large Star punch...

24. Here's a 2012-2013 Catalog sneak peek - the butterfly is from the new set Papaya  Collage.  There are no papayas in the set, but it is definitely a vintage must have!...Scallop Trim Border punch, and 1" and 1-3/8" punches...

Look!  More Tasteful Trim...  OK, I won't count that one.

25a.  Stamped border (from Rue Des Fleurs, from the Occasions Mini Catalog 2012) with 1/4" Taffeta Ribbon

25b. Repeated the same pattern and turned it 90 degrees...

Any of these designs can be turned, right, left, upside down, centered, used 12" or 8" depending on what size book you're working on.  Layers and ribbon dress things up, Designer Series Paper adds a little spice to any design.  Because of the small size, I kept it very simple, but the designs are easily expanded upon.   For her journaling blanks, I used Whisper White card stock cut with the Scallop Squares Duo Bigz die, one for each layout.

Enjoy!

Here's a fun card I just made for a friend who is a self-proclaimed sunflower girl. 

Supplies:
Sunflower background stamp
More Mustard Classic Ink Stampin' Pad
Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write Marker
Whisper White, Garden Green, More Mustard and Chocolate Chip card stock
Scallop Oval and Large Oval punches
"Thanks" sentiment is from the Rue Des Fleurs set (Occasions Mini 2012)

To get the stipple effect on the sunflower center: 
First, ink the entire stamp with the More Mustard Ink Pad.  Make sure the stamp is well inked to get all the beautiful details on the petals.
Next, take the brush end of the Chocolate Chip marker and with the side of the brush, mix the Chocolate Chip ink with the More Mustard in the flower center. 
Stipple the edges of the center with the side of the brush, along where the petals join the center and the stamens fluff out along the edge. 
Give the whole stamp a few foggy breaths to keep the ink moist and stamp on the Whisper White card stock. 

Hope you enjoy!

Petite Purse - vintage style

Another short and sweet blog - I just bought the Petite Purse Bigz L die from Stampin' Up and have been having loads of fun with it.  This one I'm working on a bit of a vintage feel.  It could use a few tweaks, but I'm liking it so far.   One recommendation I have is to use Sticky Strip to adhere it together, the bond is much stronger than regular SNAIL adhesive.

Supplies:

Petite Purse Bigz L die

Victoria Crochet trim

En Francais background stamp

Natural Ivory card stock

Cherry Cobbler card stock

Blossom Builder punch

Sticky Strip

It's great for little gifts - I made one the other day for a birthday "card" for a 5yr old girl's birthday party in Island Indigo and Pumpkin Pie and filled it with little chocolates - and gave it away before photographing it.  

Ode to the Ornament Punch part II

Today's blog is a short and sweet one, the ornament punch as a vase. Ronda Wade pioneered this one on her blog, and featured the vase with some cute stamped flowers. This version is entirely punch art.

Supply List:

119847 Ornament Punch

119858 Boho Blossoms Punch

117191 Bird Builder Punch (stems)

117155 Brights Colection Designer Series Paper

119247 Basic Pearls

119976 Square Lattice Embossing Folder

Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Melon Mambo card stock

Ode to the Ornament Punch! Part I – Borders

The Ornament Punch was a Stampin' Up offering for about a year before I bought one for myself. “It's soooo cute” my friends said. “Makes great Christmas tags!” proclaimed Mom, “It even has a stamp set that goes with it!” Today the Ornament Punch has about 3 stamp sets that use it as a base design, but what I have come to love about it is all the things this beautiful yet basic shape can do all year long.

Today, I'm using it as a border punch.

Supplies:

Ornament Punch from Stampin' Up item #119847

1-1/2 x 12 inch strip of card stock or paper (or 1-1/2 x length of project). Shown here: Peach Parfait from the In Color 2010-2012 12 x 12 collection #124338 available through my Stampin' Up demonstrator website.

graphing ruler (this one's a “Tim Holtz”, but there are a variety available in the drafting department of office supply and craft stores. I confess that while I am a hard core Stampin' Up demonstrator, I do have a few dalliances with Tim Holtz' products....)

Directions:

Mark the center line (CL) of the back of your card stock strip. Draw parallel lines each 1-7/8 inches, perpendicular to the top edge. These are the center lines of the ornament. Position the card stock so that it rests against the backstop (hinge) of the punch, with the CL at the bottom point of the ornament. Punch at each CL.

Notice, I have marked my punch with a sharpie extra fine point, to help me keep my paper parallel.

Yes, I know that I am a nerd.

Turn your card stock around, and mark the center of each area between ornaments. Punch in the same fashion as the first side. Because there's not much card stock to brace against the hinge of the punch, marking the punch is very helpful to keep your design straight.

Optional: Nip a little quadrant of ornament off the square end, as I have done here to keep the flow of the pattern.

The “leftover” pieces can also be used to create a border design. 100% used – love it!

Items shown here:

#124301 Very Vanilla 12 x 12 Card Stock

#121078 Neutral 12 x 12 Textured Card Stock in Basic Gray color

#119847 Ornament Punch

#125598 Labels Framelets

#124338 In Color 2010-2012 12 x 12 Card Stock in Peach Parfait (available only until May 31, 2012)

You can get all these products online through my Stampin' Up independent demonstrator website www.creativeflare.stampinup.net by clicking on the "Shop Now" link and entering these item numbers.

also shown: Going Gray card stock (discontinued)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Here's a little something I'm sure you've all seen before: the “Three-Heart Shamrock” It's a classic, and certainly has been done before... maybe over done. My twist on the “Three-Heart Shamrock” uses the same basic elements, but with a little added dimension.

Supply list:

Happiest Birthday Wishes Stamp Set

Wild Wasabi Textured Card Stock

Confetti White Card Stock

Whisper White Card Stock

Perfect Plum Card Stock

Bashful Blue Designer Series Paper

Wild Wasabi Classic Ink Pad

Perfect Plum Classic Ink Pad

Sponge Dauber
Mini Glue Dots
Stampin' Dimensionals

Sizzix Big Shot

Sizzix Framelets Hearts Nesting Die Set (available through Stampin' Up)

Sizzix Adorning Accents Embossing Folders (Stampin' Up exclusive)

The short and sweet version is that I used the Framelets Hearts Set (Sizzix) and cut 3 small hearts out of my Wild Wasabi textured card stock... and threw them into the scrap bin. Then, the next larger size was set over the heart-shaped hole in the card stock, off-center, so that the bottom points of the hearts were about 1/8” apart.

Crank, crank, crank, the Big Shot and voila! A hollow heart. :( Sponge the inner edge of the heart with Wild Wasabi Ink and a sponge dauber....

Snip through the point and criss-crossed the “legs” of the heart and use a glue dot to secure them about 1/2” up from each point.

Lastly I attached a Stampin' Dimensional to a 1/2” punched circle and stuck all 3 heart points to the dimensional, nice an snug, and sandwiched another Stampin' Dimensional on top to secure them together. The backing circle only needs to be as large as the dimensional, 1/2" circle will do. Trim off the excess.

Then I added a little white heart-shape from the same nesting set on top to bring it all together. Ta-da! A refurbished classic. To finish it off, I adhered it to a base of Bashful Blue Designer Series Paper, then a card stock base of Perfect Plum embossed with little hearts. All of that was put on a 5x7 card base in Confetti White and ... a happy birthday banner? Yes, St. Patrick's Day is my mom's birthday, so she always gets green/shamrock theme cards. More motivation for me to be thinking of a new St. Patrick's Day theme each year. :)

All the best,

Kristine