Stamping 411

Blast from the Past #2

2012-05-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

Good morning!!

Today's post is a fun article in which I take an "old" sketch from the Stamping 411 archives, and turn it into a scrapbook page!! Today's sketch is from Dec 25, 2009!

And, here is my sweet and simple scrapbook page!

Supplies used:

Just Perfect Alphabet Set

Basic Black Cardstock (12 x 12; 8 1/4" x 8 1/4")

Whisper White cardstock (8 1/2" x 8 1/2"; 1 1/2" x 11")

Brushed Silver Cardstock (2 3/4" x 11")

Misc: Big Shot, Stars #2 Originals Die; Extra Large Oval Punch

The pictures are all trimmed to 4" x 4", and mounted onto the 8 1/4" x 8 1/4" Basic Black cardstock.

Hope you enjoy it!!

Be sure and check back tomorrow for the Stamper's Showcase!!

Saturday Sketch Challenge 256 (SSC256)

2012-05-18T18:04:00.005-04:00

Good Evening Friends!

I'm so excited to bring you another sketch from stamping 411! Thank you to all that play along every week. We get so excited to see what you'll share next! I most always learn something from you, so thank you for that.

Tonight, before we get started, I'd like to give a gentle reminder for you to check the rules when playing! We love to share with you and want to keep stamping 411 a marketing free zone that you can enjoy without being asked to make a purchase.

I'm going to quote another operator here, because she's awesome with words and sometimes, I'm not:

"As per the rules of the Stamping 411, we do not allow any advertising in any posts linked to our blog. The Stamping 411 was created as a safe place for all demos to send their customers to learn about stamping without worrying about having them advertised to by other demos. We also not to agree to "market" to anyone on the 411 posts. :) We are just here to share what we love. "

So ~ how about some inside information. Everyone loves to get that type of scoop! We're going to be looking to expand the design team soon and there are changes coming that are already in process! We are very excited about some of the changes coming. Perhaps, a new demo to highlight a new catalog?

Have you ever thought you might like to join our design team? Play along (just sayin'). We almost always ask people that play along to join when we are looking to add to the team.

Okay now, enough about that... Let's play! :)

First some potential Measurements for you to try:

Base:11 x 4 1/4", scored and folded in half at 5 1/2"

Layer 2: 5 1/8" x 3 7/8"

Layer 3:5 x 3 3/4"

Layer 4:2 1/2" x 3 7/8"

Layer 5: 2 3/8" x 3 3/4"

Are you ready to play along? We hope that you are! Here are our rules for play.

Make a card using your Stampin' Up Supplies!
Post it online somewhere to your blog or other online forum
Post a link to the free linky tool below (please point the link to your post and NOT just your blog).
Have some fun and leave comments for each other (and for the operators if you like their work). ~ Everyone loves comments!
Please note, we reserve the right to remove links with non-Stampin' Up! product, "sales pitches", links to online stores, or requests to join your team. We're here to have fun, learn from one another and share.

We hope you join us this week and play along with this sketch! But don't delay our links will close at 8AM on Thursday morning Eastern Standard Time.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Selene Kempton

Stamper's Showcase #255

2012-05-17T23:48:00.001-04:00

It's been another great week on Stamping 411. Thanks to all who played along with our challenge. Here are your Operator Picks for Saturday Sketch Challenge #255!

"How To" Tie A Bottle Knot

2012-05-16T09:36:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone!
I’ve got a cool little trick for you today. It’s how to tie a Bottle Knot with your Stampin’ Mist Bottle. So get your Stampin’ Mist Bottle and follow along.

Take your desired ribbon and bring it around the top part of the bottle. Cut end on the left. ( I do not cut a length but work from the roll) It saves ribbon.

Cross the piece in your left hand over the ribbon.

Bring the cut piece up through the bottom and pull straight up and down with the tails.

Now bring the top (cut end)down and tie into a knot.

Pull both ends to the sides

Pull ribbon off bottle and this is what it should look like. Loop and two ends.

Measure to card and cut just enough to attach to the back of the mat with tape/Mono.

Now make a cut into the loop at a diagonal

Almost there…..now pull both ends to the sides, then trim ends…..and there you have it. Attach to the back of your mat and attach to the card base.

The Perfect very time Bottle Knot

…and here is the finished Product.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Hope you will come back soon for more inspiration form the Stamping 411 Team of Operators.

Saturday Sketch Challenge #255

2012-05-11T17:00:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone and welcome to a new Saturday Sketch Challenge from the Stamping 411 Operators! We've got another fun sketch to inspire your creativity this week! And speaking of creativity, just wait until you see what the Operators have created for you this week!

First, here are some potential measurements for this sketch:

Layer One -- Card Base -- Cardstock cut at 5.5 x 8.5", scored and folded
Layer Two -- DSP cut at 4 x 2.5"
Layer Three -- Cardstock cut at 2" square
Layer Four -- Cardstock cut at 2" square
Layer Five -- Cardstock cut at 2.5 x 3.5"

That's it! It looks more complicated, doesn't it? Are you ready to see some fabulous eye candy? Let's go ...

Have we inspired you to play along? We hope so and can't wait to see your creations! Here are our rules for participating:

Make a card using your Stampin' Up Supplies!
Post it online somewhere to your blog or other online forum
Post a link to the free linky tool below (please point the link to your post and NOT just your blog).
Have some fun and leave comments for each other (and for the operators if you like their work). ~ Everyone loves comments!
Please note, we reserve the right to remove links with non-Stampin' Up! product, "sales pitches", links to online stores, or requests to join your team. We're here to have fun, learn from one another and share.

We hope you join us this week and play along with this sketch! But don't delay our links will close at 8AM on Thursday morning Eastern Standard Time.

Have a fabulous weekend!
Blessings, Gretchen

Stamper's Showcase #254

2012-05-11T02:00:00.001-04:00

WOW!!! Unbelievable stamping this week from our Sketch Challenge Participants! You guys ROCK! Here are your Operator Picks for Saturday Sketch Challenge #254.

Clean and Simple with Negative Shape Masking

2012-05-10T14:47:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone and welcome to my Thursday "Anything" Post! I decided to bring you a fun little technique today that I've been seeing EVERYWHERE. I'm not even quite sure what to call it so I'm calling it "Negative Shape Masking". When you "mask" a stamping project, you usually use a punch or die-cut shape, lay it on your project and stamp or sponge over it so that when you pull away the "mask", that area of the paper is left blank. With negative masking, you do just the opposite. You punch or die cut a shape and then you use the outline, or negative area, to do your masking! Clear as mud, right? LOL -- let me show you what I mean!

On this first card, using the Big Shot and the Labels Collection Framelet, I cut out the label shape and then used the outline as a stencil for my sponging.

I used adhesive tape to fasten the mask to the cardstock that I was using for my project.

Next, I used sponges and three different colors Classic ink -- Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink and Perfect Plumb. Sponge and apply color until you are happy with the effect -- you can use as little or as much as you want. Obviously darker colors will give you more contrast and vibrancy. Once you have it the way you want it, remove the mask and this is what you have ...

Next, you add your stamped images, color them in and add any embellishments you want to complete your project. For this card, I used Bordering on Romance and Sincere Salutations Stamp sets and positioned them just a little outside of my sponged area. I stamped with Black Stazon Ink and then colored in the flowers and leaves with Stampin' Up! Watercolor Pencils. I blended the colors with a Blender Pen and added self-adhesive Basic Pearls for embellishment. I then trimmed the stamp piece to a size of 3 x 4" and backed it with an Elegant Eggplant mat measuring 3.25 x 4.25". I adhered that to a 4 x 5.25" piece of Whisper White Cardstock that I embossed with the Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder and attached it to a Elegant Eggplant Card Base. Once you cut your mask, it can be used for several different projects, so don't throw them away, keep them in a little file or box for later use.

Now, you can use any shape or size for your negative mask. It's fun to experiment and these cards make very fast, simple and clean cards when you need something quick or need to make multiples! Here's a couple more examples ...

For this one, I cut out the butterfly with the Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die. I positioned the mask at a little angle and then sponged it with Marina Mist and So Saffron Inks. I stamped the flourish from Elements of Style with Marina Mist Ink. The sentiment is from Pursuit of Happiness. I also embossed the Marina Mist mat with the Big Shot and the Framed Tulips Impressions Folder. The Card Base if So Saffron.

In this final sample, I used one of the Heart Dies from the Hearts Collection Framelets. Using the Array of Sunshine Stamp Set (Hostess), I embossed the stamps with Versamark Ink and Clear Embossing Powder. I then sponged Real Red and Rich Razzleberry inks over the embossing (this is called Emboss Resist). The sentiment is stamped in Black Stazon ink and is from the set, Word Play.

I hope you will keep this technique in mind and have a little fun creating sometime soon using the Negative Mask technique. It's a great way to add extra color, depth and texture to your cards and yet it's still quick and easy to do. Feel free to leave a link to your projects below -- we would love to see your creations. You have until 8 AM next Thursday to play along!

I hope you've enjoyed today's "Anything" post on stamping 411 and hope you'll come back soon!

Happy Stamping -- blessings, Gretchen

Saturday Sketch Challenge # 254

2012-05-04T18:00:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone and welcome to a new Saturday Sketch Challenge from the Stamping 411 Operators! We have another awesome sketch for you to get creative with this week and as always, some great samples from the Operators!

Here are some potential measurements for this sketch:

Layer One -- Card Base -- Cardstock cut at 5.5 x 8.5", scored and folded
Layer Two -- Cardstock cut at 4 x 5.25"
Layer Three -- Cardstock or DSP cut at 3 x 4.25"
Layer Four -- Cardstock or DSP cut at 1.5 x 4"
Layer Five -- Cardstock cut at 2.5 x 3.5"
Layer Six -- Cardstock cut at 2.25 x 3.25"
Layer Seven -- Embellishment or Shape as Desired

Are you ready to start stamping? Let's go ...

Lee Conrey

Patti Chesky

Tammy Fite

Gretchen Barron

Selene Kempton

Have we inspired you to play along? We hope so! Here are our rules for participating:

Make a card using your Stampin' Up Supplies!
Post it online somewhere to your blog or other online forum
Post a link to the free linky tool below (please point the link to your post and NOT just your blog).
Have some fun and leave comments for each other (and for the operators if you like their work). ~ Everyone loves comments!
Please note, we reserve the right to remove links with non-Stampin' Up! product, "sales pitches", links to online stores, or requests to join your team. We're here to have fun, learn from one another and share.

We hope you join us this week and play along with this sketch! But don't delay our links will close at 8AM on Thursday morning Eastern Standard Time.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Blessings, Gretchen

Stamper's Showcase #253

2012-05-04T06:00:00.000-04:00

There's been some amazing creativity and beautiful stamping going on at Stamping 411 this week. Thanks to all who have participated in the Sketch Challenge. Here are your Operator Picks for Saturday Sketch Challenge #253.

Color Inspiration #170

2012-05-03T08:30:00.000-04:00

It was a glorious day in MN today. It was sunny with temps in the low 80s and low humidity. In the words of Bruce Almighty it was a "B-E-A-utiful day".

As I was heading to the grocery store, the local nursery was setting up their flowers. I'm always hesitant to plant my flowers this early as I lost most of my flowers to a frost the first year we moved here. Seeing all those pretty flowers this morning had me tempted to try again.

I did resist temptation, but I decided to stamp with some of the colors I saw in those flowers. For this month's Color Inspiration Challenge, the colors are: Perfect Plum, Sahara Sand, Always Artichoke and Pink Pirouette.

For my card, I chose to play with two stamp sets that have been neglected lately. They're called Nature Walk and Delicate Doilies. The doilies were used to create custom background paper, and Nature Walk was used for my focal image.

I used a variety of products to create texture on my card. I used the Direct-to-Paper technique on the Sahara Sand cardstock strip, sponging on the Perfect Plum cardstock, and finally, I used the Square Lattice impressions folder on the Always Artichoke cardstock. Each has a different effect that adds up to one beautiful card!

My Pink Pirouette scallops were created using the retiring Eyelet Ribbon Border punch. I just let a little bit of it peek from the side of the Sahara Sand strip.

I'll leave you with the card recipe in case you want to re-create it!

Are you ready to make a project using these colors? I'll put a Linky Tool at the bottom of this post so you can link your project to our blog. Have fun creating!!!!

Card Recipe
stamps: Delicate Doilies, Nature Walk
paper: Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Perfect Plum, Always Artichoke, Pink Pirouette, Sahara Sand
ink: Sahara Sand, Perfect Plum
accessories: Stampin' Write Markers (Perfect Plum, Always Artichoke), Eyelet Ribbon Border punch, Square Lattice embossing folder, Color Spritzer Tool, Always Artichoke Seam Binding

Many Thanks To Erna Logtenberg

2012-05-02T09:25:00.001-04:00

On behalf of all the stamping 411 operators I'd like to reach out and give a heartfelt thanks to our featured stamper and honorary operator for the month of April, Erna Logtenberg.

You may wonder how we select featured operators or design team members (hint, hint). Well, we do that from our pool of awesome, talented players. That's right, you! :)

Maybe you didn't get picked in the "stampers showcase" this week or last, but know that the operators are always talking to one another about the sheer talent of all those that play along. We love you!

Erna ~ Thank you so very much for sharing your talents with us! Don't forget to check out Erna's AWESOME, and ORIGINAL border technique here.

Saturday Sketch Challenge 253

2012-04-27T17:20:00.000-04:00

Good Evening Friends!

It's time for another sketch challenge from your Stamping 411 Operators.

We also have a bit of a celebration in order! I just wanted to take a moment to celebrate with you our two operators who earned the Stampin Up incentive trip last year. They are on their way to meet Mickey Mouse. It takes a lot of hard work and determination to earn the yearly trips and I wanted to take a moment to congratulate our team mates Lee Conrey and Tammy Fite for earning the trip! Way to go ladies!!!

We have another fun sketch for you to try out this week and some samples below for your inspiration.

Here are some potential measurements for this sketch.

Base Layer: 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half at 4 1/4"

Layer 2: 5 1/2" x 2"

Layer 3: a ribbon or a 5 1/2" x 1/2" piece of cardstock

Layer 4" 4 x 2 1/2"

For individual measurements, try visiting our operator blogs below.

Don't forget to leave our guest designer some loving comments for being so cool and joining us this month. We are honored to have you Erna.

Okay! And away we go!

Tammy Fite

Are you ready to play along? We hope that you are! Here are our rules for play.

Make a card using your Stampin' Up Supplies!
Post it online somewhere to your blog or other online forum
Post a link to the free linky tool below (please point the link to your post and NOT just your blog).
Have some fun and leave comments for each other (and for the operators if you like their work). ~ Everyone loves comments!
Please note, we reserve the right to remove links with non-Stampin' Up! product, "sales pitches", links to online stores, or requests to join your team. We're here to have fun, learn from one another and share.

We hope you join us this week and play along with this sketch! But don't delay our links will close at 8AM on Thursday morning Eastern Standard Time.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Selene Kempton

Stampers Showcase!

2012-04-27T16:19:00.002-04:00

Don't adjust your TV! We had some technical difficulties this morning and didn't post the operator picks on time. Sorry about that! We really had some fabulous players this week! :) Check out these awesome artists that played along with our sketch last week.

Thanks for visiting!

Selene Kempton

Saturday Sketch challenge 252

2012-04-20T18:00:00.000-04:00

Good Evening Friends!

It's time for another sketch challenge from your Stamping 411 Operators.

We have another pretty sketch for you to try out this week and some samples below for your inspiration.

Here are some potential measurements for this sketch.

Base Layer: 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half at 4 1/4"

Layer 2: 5 x 3"

Layer 3: 2 x 2 1/2"

For individual measurements, try visiting our operator blogs below.

Don't forget to leave our guest designer some loving comments for being so cool and joining us this month. We are honored to have you Erna.

Tammy Fite

Are you ready to play along? We hope that you are! Here are our rules for play.

Make a card using your Stampin' Up Supplies!
Post it online somewhere to your blog or other online forum
Post a link to the free linky tool below (please point the link to your post and NOT just your blog).
Have some fun and leave comments for each other (and for the operators if you like their work). ~ Everyone loves comments!
Please note, we reserve the right to remove links with non-Stampin' Up! product, "sales pitches", links to online stores, or requests to join your team. We're here to have fun, learn from one another and share.

We hope you join us this week and play along with this sketch! But don't delay our links will close at 8AM on Thursday morning Eastern Standard Time.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Selene Kempton

Stampers Showcase #251

2012-04-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone and welcome to another Friday Stamper's Showcase on Stamping 411! There some amazing cards submitted for this week's Sketch Challenge -- just beautiful! To all who particpated - thank you for sharing your time and creativity with all of us. Here are your Operator Picks for Sketch Challenge #251!

"How To" make a "Z" Fold Card

2012-04-18T09:00:00.001-04:00

Hi Everyone,
I’d like to share a little Tutorial with you today. It’s for a “Z” Fold Card. So easy you’re going to love it!!!

Isn’t it cute??? I just love how fresh and Summery it is!
Want to learn how to make this??? Just follow these few simple steps.
assemble all your goodies you want to use including your Simply Scored.
Cardstock Sizes are:

Card Base 4 1/4 x 9 3/4 and scored at 2 3/4 x 5 1/2
Green Mat is cute to 2 5/8 x 3 7/8
DSP cut to 2 1/2 x 3 7/8 using the Summer Smooches
Square Scallop Die Cut in Red
Image piece in White cut to 2 5/8 x 2 5/8
White and Green Card Stock for Daisy Die

score card base at 2 3/4 x 5 1/2

It should fold like this…..

Separate out your Daisies and use your two-way Glue Pen to glue to each other making a cluster and let dry.

Stamp Sentiment on your small white square and mat with the red scallop.

Using your Cropodile punch a small hole to accommodate the cute little Summer Smooches Brad that will sit in the center of your Daisy and then it will attach to the Red Scallop……like this.

The back will look like this. The beauty of this is that it won’t get top heavy as it is attached to the mat rather than just sitting there attached with a glue dot.

Next you will add a few dimensionals to the back so you can attach to the card. Don’t add them to the side that will open as you don’t want to stick that part down.

Attach Designer Paper and Mat to the front of the card.

Assemble and see what you can do with any scraps that are left.

See where I added it and then some bling???
Hope you enjoyed this quick little Tutorial and will give it a try. This was fun!!!!

Saturday Sketch Challenge 251

2012-04-13T17:57:00.000-04:00

Good Evening Friends!

I hope you had a wonderful week surrounded by family for the holiday! :) For those of you that are Greek, I hope you have a wonderful Easter this weekend! :)

The weather in New England is SO nice today, that I just have nothin' to say! Isn't that beautiful??

Here are some potential measurements for tonight's {singing} AWESOME sketch.

Base Layer: 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half at 4 1/4"

Layer 2: 5" x 3 3/4"

Layer 3: 1 1/2" x 4"

Layer 4: 2 1/2" x 3 1/2"

Don't forget to leave our guest designer some loving comments for being so cool and joining us this month. We are honored to have you Erna.

Are you ready to play along? We hope that you are! Here are our rules for play.

Make a card using your Stampin' Up Supplies!
Post it online somewhere to your blog or other online forum
Post a link to the free linky tool below (please point the link to your post and NOT just your blog).
Have some fun and leave comments for each other (and for the operators if you like their work). ~ Everyone loves comments!
Please note, we reserve the right to remove links with non-Stampin' Up! product, "sales pitches", links to online stores, or requests to join your team. We're here to have fun, learn from one another and share.

We hope you join us this week and play along with this sketch! But don't delay our links will close at 8AM on Thursday morning Eastern Standard Time.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Selene Kempton

Stampers Showcase #250

2012-04-13T06:00:00.001-04:00

The Stamping 411 Operators are amazed each week at our participants creativity and beautiful cards and this week is no exception! Thanks for playing along, everyone. Here are your Operator Picks for Saturday Sketch Challenge #250.

How To ~ Use Up Scraps!

2012-04-12T13:00:00.000-04:00

Scraps, Scraps, everywhere!
In boxes, drawers,even my hair!
Sometimes a blessing, sometimes a curse
I even found some in my purse!

LOL! I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds myself overcome with scraps, scraps and more scraps! Well, I can't promise to take care of all your scrap problems, but I do have three simple solutions for you today ... three easy cards which will help you to use up some of those bits and pieces that collect so quickly!

When trying to use up scraps, think DSP! No, not Designer Series Paper but ... Dies, Punches and Strips! These little tools will help you think more creatively about using your scraps! And by the way, each of the cards in this post were created, start to finish, in less than 10 minutes!

DIES! Look at this adorable and quick card that I made using some cardstock scraps and the Tasteful Trim Die, along with the Big Shot! Just select three or four colors (can also be done with Designer Series Paper), run through the Big Shot, layer on your Card Base, add some ribbon and other embellishments and voila! Instant card, created using ... scraps! Sentiment is from the Perfectly Penned Stamp Set.

STRIPS! I created this quick and easy card using 1" strips of Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper (all scraps, of course)! You also need to punch coordinating 1" circles to finish off the bottom of the strip. I added a 1" strip of Cardstock, applied horizontally, along with some ribbon and a flower embellishment (cut with the Big Shot) -- all from SCRAPS!

And finally, PUNCHES! Punches are a fabulous way to use up the tiniest scraps. This Pinwheel card look complicated but it's really very quick and easy. The DSP and cardstock squares were created with the 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" Square Punches. Add a brad or button and a bow and ... there you go, another quick and easy card and fewer scraps collecting in bins, boxes and drawers! See the TUTORIAL on how to create this card!

Well, there you go! I may not have solved all your scrap woes, but hopefully I gave you some new and fresh ideas about how you can use up your scraps!

Happy stamping, and happy scrapping! Blessings, Gretchen

Saturday Sketch Challenge #250

2012-04-06T18:00:00.001-04:00

Hello everyone and welcome to a new Saturday Sketch Challenge from the Stamping 411 Operators! We are so excited to have a new Featured Artist for the month of April -- Erna Logtenberg! Erna has been a long-time player at Stamping 411 and we are delighted to have her on board! Welcome, Erna!

This week's sketch will have you running in circles! Yes, that's right - circles ... or any other shape that you want to use as you make this sketch your own! Our sketch this week is also a square card, although you can adapt it to the regular size and shape or even make it into a scrapbook page! Feel free to keep it simple or bump it up a notch. A sketch is just a place for you to begin, a picure to get your own creative juices flowing. We hope you will have some fun with it!

So, how about some Potential Measurements for this weeks sketch?

Layer one -- Cardstock cut to 5.25 x 10.5", scored and folded to make the Card Base
Layer Two -- Cardstock or DSP cut at 5" square
Layer Three -- Cardstock or DSP cut at 1 x 5" -- add circles (or other shapes) and embellishments of your choice.

See! Thats not so difficult! Are you ready to be inspired ...

Are you ready to play along? We hope that you are! Here are our rules for play.

Make a card using your Stampin' Up Supplies!
Post it online somewhere to your blog or other online forum
Post a link to the free linky tool below (please point the link to your post and NOT just your blog).
Have some fun and leave comments for each other (and for the operators if you like their work). ~ Everyone loves comments!

Please note, we reserve the right to remove links with non-Stampin' Up! product, "sales pitches", links to online stores, or requests to join your team. We're here to have fun, learn from one another and share.

We hope you join us this week and play along with this sketch! But don't delay our links will close at 8AM on Thursday morning Eastern Standard Time.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings, Gretchen

Welcome April Featured Artist ~ Erna Logtenberg!

2012-04-06T12:00:00.000-04:00

Hello Friends!

It is my great pleasure to announce our featured artist for the month of April and my friend, Erna Logtenberg! You may find Erna's cards here on stamping 411, because she is a frequent player with our challenges and an amazingly talented stamper/artist! We are SO VERY excited about having her on our team for the month of April starting with tonight's post!

Erna lives in the Netherlands and has a very big heart! Erna has driven hours to hang out with my friend who's hubby is stationed there and who desperately needs friends who craft!

We are very lucky to have her on the team this month. To kick off the festivities, Erna wrote this AWESOME tutorial on how to create a border, with the bitty border punch! Totally Fabulous!

Thanks for joining us!! We are so lucky to have you!

Create your own Itty Bitty Border

Today we are going to make our own Itty Bitty Border with one of the punches from Itty Bitty Border Shapes Punch Pack. First of all, you take a piece of paper. I made a 4 ¼” square card, so my paper was a little bit wider than 4 ¼“ and you use this little punch.

You put the paper in the punch until it stops completely and till the edge of the paper

Then punch one time. For the next punch you slide the punch, until you see the previous circle on one side or the other of the punch like shown here:

Then you punch and go on like this, slide the punch until you see the next circle and punch!

Go on till the whole paper is done:

Now you have two pieces of papers, with a new border look!

Stick this on your cardbase paper the way you want:

Cut the extra paper on the back off

Finish your card:

And my whole card:

Woohoo! So that's the big announcement! We will see more from Erna tonight at 6pm EST when this week's sketch challenge goes live! :) Welcome Erna!

Selene Kempton

Stampers Showcase #249

2012-04-06T06:00:00.000-04:00

Beautiful images, beautiful cards, beautiful players .... that's what we have on Stamping 411! Thank you for all who played along with our challenge this week. Here are your Operator Picks for Sketch Challenge #249.

Color Inspiration #169

2012-04-05T08:30:00.001-04:00

Happy April everyone! It's the first Thursday of the month, and that means I get to share another Color Inspiration Challenge with you!

This month I was inspired by an Easter card that my mom made for the grandsons. It's so adorable!!! I'll ask her I can share it with everyone on my blog after Easter is over.

This month's colors are: Island Indigo, Pear Pizzazz, So Saffron and Calypso Coral.

This month I thought I would make a cute 3D project using the new Purse Bigz die from the Summer Smooches suite. I kept mine pretty simple as I wanted the colors to be the star of the project. But, as I've been blog hopping I've seen purses that have been made with dsp, embossed cardstock, faux alligator and so much more!!!! I love, love, love this die!!!

My base purse is made with Island Indigo cardstock. Two pieces of Sticky Strip is all that's needed to construct this baby!

I also just picked up the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch. I just change the switch on this punch to punch out different portions of the flower. When you layer them together, it makes the perfect decoration to embellish my purse. The center of the flower is a circle cut using my Owl Punch and some of that fabulous Silver Glimmer Paper.

I also added some pen stitching with my Island Indigo marker to add a little whimsy to my project!

Are you ready to play with this new color combo? I hope so!!!!! If you make something, I hope you'll share it with us here at the Stamping 411. I've included a Linky Tool at the bottom of this post so you can do just that! Just copy your project's web address into the tool, and it will create thumbnail picture of your project. Easy peasy!!!

Project Recipe

paper: Island Indigo, Calypso Coral, Pear Pizzazz, So Saffron
accessories: Purse Bigz L die, Island Indigo Marker, Owl punch, Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch, Silver Glimmer Paper, dimensionals

Saturday Sketch Challenge #249

2012-03-30T17:00:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone and welcome to a new Saturday Sketch Challenge from the Stamping 411 Operators!

Before we get started on the sketch, we just want to say how sorry we are that Tiffany Bauer, has made the difficult decision to step down. She wants to focus her time and energy on her family and her Stampin' UP! business. Although we understand and wish her all the best, we are so sad that she won't be posting with us each week. We have all been challenged and inspired by Tiffany beautiful work and her amazing Scrapbook layouts! We will miss you, Tiffany! We hope you will take an opportunity to visit Tiffany's blog and give her a little love.

This week's sketch gives you an opportunity to pull out some of your punches and get creative with shapes! Although squares are used on the sketch, we can't wait to see how you translate this sketch into your own creative masterpiece! You'll see from the Operator inspiration piece below, that we used a variety of shapes to make this sketch our own. Feel free to keep it simple or bump it up a notch. A sketch is just a place for you to begin, a picure to get your own creative juices flowing. We hope you will have some fun with it!

So, how about some Potential Measurements for this weeks sketch?

Layer one -- Cardstock cut to 5.5 x 8.5", scored and folded to make the Card Base
Layer Two -- cardstock or DSP cut at 4 x 5.25"
Additional Layers -- punch shapes of your choice

WOW! That's easy isn't it! Are you ready to be inspired ...

Are you ready to play along? We hope that you are! Here are our rules for play.

Make a card using your Stampin' Up Supplies!
Post it online somewhere to your blog or other online forum
Post a link to the free linky tool below (please point the link to your post and NOT just your blog).
Have some fun and leave comments for each other (and for the operators if you like their work). ~ Everyone loves comments!

Stampers Showcase #248

2012-03-30T05:35:00.001-04:00

It's been another week of fabulous creativity at Stamping 411! Thanks to all who participated in the sketch challenge. Here are your Operator Picks for Sketch Challenge #248.