Simple Stampin

Make it MINE – week# 11!

by Susan Itell | Jul 14, 2014 | Make it MINE Monday | 9 comments

Welcome to another Monday if “Make it Mine”…this is a simple personal challenge that I am having fun with each Monday! Just to catch you up to speed if you are new – I found that when I attempted to do “sketch” challenges, I froze!

The more I realized that I did not have to be so “type A” (habit of mine) and just enjoy trying to look at it and think of how I can let my personality and comfort zone shine!

Here you go with this weeks sketch! I "borrowed" it from Freshly Made Sketches, a great challenge that is offered weekly! ( Check out their challenges….they are great and give it a try!!!)

Please try this sketch and if you want to share your interpretation with me, please email me. I am so happy that there are many of you trying these challenges each week. Way to go for you!

This is my take for today and I must say, I am very happy with it! I need to listen of my friend Jeanie more and use the embossing folders! I loved how this card turned out and I will share with you some tips that always work when using the embossing folders!

The finished card size is a 5” X 5” and the color is Very Vanilla… ( I wanted to use the Flashback DSP) again (remember these are on sale….click here – buy 3 get 1 free)

Knowing that I wanted to use the new Tiny Triangles Embossing folder, I let the width of the folder dictate the size of the next square = 4 ¼” so here is a great tip! I cut both of the colors to 2 1/8” X 4 ¼” and then adhered them with sticky strip and also placed sticky strip around the outer edges. WHY? When you run it through the Big Shot…it gets a bit wavy and this way I took care of that and the pattern of the triangles matched up perfectly! WOOT-WOOT!

I matted this to a piece of Bermuda Bay that is 4 ½” square…love these colors together!

Speaking of LOVE…how about this stamp set…when the new catalog came out, HANDS DOWN this is the bundle that needed to come to my home! I will admit that there has been a bit of a “learning curve” with using the BIG Floral stamps but another tip…use the Stampin’ Mat…(one that you have not pierced or any firm foam. This seems to help a bunch with stamping the larger images for great coverage! You can get an instant 15% discount buy purchasing it as a bundle….I just love it when there are matching framelits! Here is a great shot of all the stamps in the set.

I know that I will be asked what colors I used…the leave were pear pizzazz and old olive and then the flower was stamped in Coastal Cabana. I loved what I did with the top flower…this is Bermuda Bay and then I used the basic pearls to jazz it up a bit!

Here is another tip…use the “green glue” (remember, just a little) to adhere the flowers on top of the embossed imaged…WHY? I find that it you use snail adhesive, it simply does not stick as well with the bumps of the embossed paper!

Sentiment time…this also is in the stamp set and I simple stamp and snip is all that is needed!

I made my custom envelope with the easy envelope punch board and then lined the outside with this great black and very vanilla paper.

Well….your thoughts?!?! I was very happy with the end result and I really like seeing the 2 different colors of paper. I think that it really creates interest and the textures are super!

I hope that you give it a whirl today…I am excited to see what you come up with! We are to have another round of bad weather tomorrow….fingers crossed we do not have a "repeat performance" of last week!

Thanks for popping by and until tomorrow!

Flashback Designer Series Paper

Stampin' Dimensionals

Tiny Triangles Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

$7.95

Flower Patch Photopolymer Bundle

$43.25

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

HORRAY! I am back.

by Susan Itell | Jul 13, 2014 | Super Easy, Tips and Tricks!!! | 15 comments

Whew…I feel like it has been such a long week (actually it WAS a very long week and I am glad it is behind) Our power was restored late yesterday afternoon and I could hardly wait to regain a bit of normalcy! WOWZERS, was the house HOT and well….we sure do have a clean refrigerator and freezer!

Today's card is how I feel – HOORAY! HORRAY!

Daisey Mae was the PERFECT PROTECT PIG and she is happy that the air-conditioning is on and she has given all house watch responsibilities to the dogs…she has done her job and now she need to catch up on her beauty piggy rest!

I sure hope that you missed me as much as I have missed my daily blogging! Feeling guilty is an understatement…I truly missed creating, playing around and inspiring you! I think that you will find this card fun.

Ready…let's go! I will say that the thrill of heat embossing is still so special as the first time I ever did it…at the end of this post I will share with you some tips that made making this card easy.

The base of the card is Crushed Curry cut to a note-card size 3 1/2 X 5 and then I made the matching envelope with the help of the Envelope punch board. (makes it so easy)

The Very Vanilla is a "smidge smaller" – (that is 3 3/8 X 4 7/8) and the I used my handy ruler and pencil to find the 1/2 way mark…drew a faint line and also a line 1/4" from the bottom

After prepping the paper surface with a quick swipe of the Embossing Bubby I stamped the image with the versa mark and then used the Crushed Curry Embossing Powder and heat tool to do the magic!

I am lovin' out new Designer Series Paper and this one is one of my favorites as I like the fact that is compliments with Very Vanilla – The Flashback DSP! Remember, click here to see and take advantage of the buy 3 get 1 free with the DSP Papers! The perfect time to stock up!

Because I had a significant amount of "very vanilla" space, I thought that this would the perfect way to show case the DSP. I know that many of you are afraid of using bold prints of DSP on the body of your card…but what do you think of this? I think it is as clean and classic as it comes! The height of this is 2".

You have heard me say many times before that I adore the Stampin' Trimmer, well this is a PERFECT example of why! These slivers of Real Red are just 1/8" and was a cinch using the trimmer. True I could have matted this piece of DSP on Red, but I wanted to teach you that this method works great. I used the Sticky Strip and left just a little overhang to adhere the red…BINGO – adhesive worked double time and on the card it goes!

The envelope was jazzed up with lining the outer part of the envelope flap! You can see that I cut the bottom of the flap straight after making it with the envelope punch board (sometimes I just like mixing things up!!!)

Well…I hope that you say HOORAY!HORRAY! to this card and I hope that it has inspired you to take a sentiment and use it multiple times and great a fun and simple card!

Please do not be afraid to use DSP on your card fronts…how about challenging yourself this week to try it…it's like the old commercials for "Life" cereal…."TRY IT…YOU MIGHT LIKE IT"

As promised, here are a couple of tips and tricks that made this card so much easier for me.

The stamp-a-ma-jig makes lining up things sooooo much easier – just make a commitment to like this black piece of plastic…it really is a great tool.

The Silicone Craft Sheet is a dream…no more sticky fingers when using the "green glue" and like this project…the sticky strip peeled right off and it did not loose and if its "stick power"

The Stampin' Trimmer…no excuses…a must have tool – we all have a birthday every year.(make sure you order and extra set of blades and the replacement cutting mat)

When I heat emboss, I like to have a set of assorted sizes of paint brushes. ( I use a coupon from the craft store and I purchased the assorted sizes as you can have a very teeny, tiny brush up to a wider one. You will be amazed at how handy they are.) When you get the embossing powder where you do not want it to be, it is a breeze to flick it off before you use the heat tool!

That's it my friends…I hope that you enjoyed having me back – I know that I sure am a "Smiling Susan"…remember to click here or hit the shop now button to purchase any SU goodies and especially take advantage of the DSP paper sale!

Thank you for your patience with my "lack of power" (heck – our little street made the front page of our local paper) as we live out in the country….and people less than 1/4 of a mile had power…It was a journey…it was an adventure – my fingers are crossed that we are home free!

Tomorrow is Make it Mine Monday…please pop back and see the sketch I have for you to challenge your personal skills. Again, it's great to be back and until tomorrow!

Envelope Punch Board

$19.95

Sumthin' Sumthin' Clear-Mount Stamp Set

Crushed Curry Stampin' Emboss Powder

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

When it Rains it Pours!!!

by Susan Itell | Jul 10, 2014 | Uncategorized | 22 comments

Hello my dear and wonderful followers…if you remember that yesterday I said that we had a bad storm and went to a hotel? Well…we really were hit and at first we were told that the power would be back within 24 hours….but late yesterday afternoon they changed it to Saturday….YES SATURDAY by 11:00 p.m.!

When I saw that from my computer at work….I was like – YIKES!!!!

Needless to say it could be a lot worse and I have to keep a positive attitude and know that John and I are going to have a very interesting next couple of days. I am soooooo hopeful that they are wrong with the time frame and the power will be back!

After work we packed up the dogs….(all 5 of them) and headed to my Dad's house to "camp out" until the power is back!

Jack and Charlie

For those of you that are "Daisy Mae" fans….my Dad is wonderful but I did not want to see if it was ok to bring the "princess" to his home.We told Dasiy that she needed to stay at the house and be the "Watch Pig" and protect the house! (we will be back to check her 1st thing in the morning)

Thank goodness my Dad is at his other house but we are in a planned retirement community and I think if the neighbors knew that we have 5 dogs here…..well let's say I do not think the Welcome Wagon would be paying us a visit!

So….the moral of the story is…no post for you…I am sorry…this is a "life happens" situation that I am just trying to find the humor of it all! I always think some things happen for a reason and I will be interested to see what the reason of this is!

Here are some pictures of the 5 dogs getting all packed up to go on their field trip! All is good at our house with Daisey Mae in the house being the best protect pig she can be….Arnold, Colin and the Donkey in the field…but I will say being in the middle of the country with 30 acres and no electicity…is very dark and very hot!

Tomorrow is a new day and I am sure it will be a great day! Enjoy the animals pictures!

Eddie and Norman

Murphy

He will be 13 next week and really feeling his age.

Here is the BEST picture in my mind – (Jack is not in it) but here are all of the animals before we packed up and dear little Daisy said – go leave….I've gotcha covered!

Until tomorrow!

I “heart” the In Colors – let’s hop!

by Susan Itell | Jul 9, 2014 | Uncategorized | 14 comments

2014julhop_badge

Welcome to the July Pals Blog Hop. This month we are featuring a New Hues Review. Let the new Stampin' Up! In Colors for 2014-16 inspire you – Blackberry Bliss, Lost Lagoon, Mossy Meadow, Hello Honey, and Tangelo Twist. We hope you find great inspiration from our creations.

These colors are super beautiful…do you have a favorite yet?

You may just be starting the blog hop or may have come from #14 - Nancy Gleason at My Stampin Space on the Pals Hop. If you get off track at any time, the full lineup below will help you move along from blog to blog so you see all of the amazing creations.

CONFESSION TIME: We had a terrible storm and lost power…John and I went to a hotel (I can't believe we did that but I have a 7 a.m. meeting) and I snapped these pictures in a Fast Food Restaurant….when it rains it pours!

Today I am showcasing for you a super simple card that gets the message straight…I love you! I have tried to use many of the new products that are in the new catalog and I encourage you to "think out of the box" like I have done here and just have fun!

There are 4 key products for this card! If you follow my Blog, you already know that I adore the note-card size of envelopes and with the new catalog they come in Crumb Cake…that deserves a WOOT-WOOT!

I wanted to keep this very simple yet showcase the different colors of the new colors and all of a sudden the light-bulb came on – (don't you love that when that happens)

Out came the new hearts border punch. Having this type of a punch does 2 things effectively…makes a border like I have shown today but it also cuts out the adorable hearts that can be used on other projects (wouldn't they be adorable in a shaker card?)

It really was easy to do. I first made the hearts border much longer than I needed and then I cut it to have 10 hearts…perfect – I showcased each color twice. I highly recommend that you use the "green glue" for this…it just takes a dab!

I adhered that to the Very Vanilla and then pulled out my main stampin' man…Mr. Big Shot – I just love him! Next I pulled out my new fun Bigz Die called Perfect Print Alphabet and Numbers. Now I know what you are thinking…this is a total indulgence and I do not disagree but it is very, very practical and I see many ideas using this die! Use hostess dollars for it or a 1/2 price item!

This was just too darn easy yet it is so effective. When you look at the numbers die you can see that there is a heart in the die…BINGO – this worked perfectly!

I used to always write to my kids – and draw and "eye" + "heart" + U..and this card reminds me of that so guess what…I made 3 to send them a card!

Using Stampin Vitamins, (Stampin' Dimensionals) I lifted the focal part and I love the way the Very Vanilla looks against the Crumb Cake.

That's really about it – I told you that it was easy. OOPS…the envelope – you know that I never make a card without giving the envelope some TLC…my "go to" Designer Series Paper Stack was perfect…those gems never leave me down. (remember they come in all color collections)