Beth Daniels, Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

Tags, Bags, and Boxes Stampin’ Up! Style

Written by Beth on June 18, 2013 · Leave a Comment

Need a little gift bag or box? These new bundles are so cute and so easy to add some stamping on them. And if you combine either the bags or the boxes with the tag set you can get the bundle at 15% off. The cookies in the box below would be a nice treat for anyone but I can imagine so many other things that you could put in there. Use them for party favors, gifts or treats. The boxes and clear acetate sleeves come flat and scored which make it super easy to stamp on. You can even stamp on the clear acetate with white or black StazOn ink.

Tag a Bag Bundle – page 158
$9.95 131371 – Bags and accessory kit in a bundle for 15% savings!

Tag a Box Bundle – page 158
$12.50 131372 Boxes and accessory kit in a bundle for 15% savings!

Tag a Bag Accessory Kit – page 158

I have already purchased both the bags and boxes bundles and have plans on using them for some very special gifts.

Thanks for stopping in,

Flower Shop Bundle – Save 15%

Written by Beth on June 18, 2013 · Leave a Comment

Another of the great Stampin’ Up! bundles is the Flower Shop stamp set and coordinating punch. Buy both and you save 15%.

$33.95-132727 Wood-Mount Bundle $28.75-132726 Clear-Mount Bundle

Stamps: Flower Shop, Secret Garden, Retired Greeting

Ink: Soft Sky, Crisp Cantaloupe

Paper: Soft Sky, White

Misc: Pansy Punch, Oval Framelets, Secret Garden Framelets, Candy Dots, Polka Dot Embossing Folder, Dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by,

Buy Bundles and Save

Written by Beth on June 17, 2013 · Leave a Comment

Stampin’ Up! has added several bundled products in the new catalog allowing you the opportunity to get coordinating product at 15% discounted pricing. The catalog is so full of wonderful products that it is actually quite easy to miss the fact that something might be a bundle special. So for the next few days I am going to focus on these. The first is a new stamp and embossing folder that has already shown to be a favorite.

Wildflower Meadow Stamp Set and Coordinating Embossing Folder

Buy the Wildflower Meadow Background Stamp and coordinating Wildflower Meadow Embossing Folder (p. 191) together at a 15% discount.

$21.95-132735 Wood-Mount Bundle $18.50-132985 Clear-Mount Bundle

Stamped card by Brenda Keenan.

Sympathy Card

Written by Beth on June 15, 2013 · Leave a Comment

One of the things we get as Stampin’ Up! demonstrators is a bi-monthly magazine full of projects and business related articles. The current one has a beautiful pastel sympathy card. This is my version of that card. I changed up a few things but the colors and the overall design are the same. I started with a light wash of Crisp Cantaloupe ink in the middle of the Vanilla card stock. The doily was inked with Pistachio Pudding using a sponge dauber. There is a small piece of white crepe filter paper stuck under the flower. The punched flower was cut a little deeper between the petals, sponged with some ink and then the petals were rolled around a ball point pen to curl them. The leaves are from Secret Garden stamp set. Stamp off the ink first on scrap paper and then on the Vanilla card stock so the color is very pale. There is a matching framelet for this stamp set. So much easier than having to cut out the images.

Stamps: Secret Garden, So Sorry

Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Soft Suede

Paper: Crisp Cantaloupe, Vanilla

Misc: Blossom Punch, Pearls, Gingham Garden Wahsi Tape, Secret Garden Framelets, Calypso Coral Baker’s Twine, Very Vintage Designer Buttons, Creped Filter Paper, Tea Lace Paper Doillies, Mini Glue Dots

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My dad has been gone for two years now and I think about him every single day and know how blessed I am that I was his daughter. I miss him. He liked holidays, mostly because it meant family would be together. If he were still here we would be celebrating Father’s Day. He deserved to be celebrated. He was the best. One of my greatest memories was when I was a senior in high school, shortly before the graduation picture below. We lived in KY, 80 miles south of Louisville. One day he skipped work and I skipped school and just the two of us went to Louisville and spent the day. We went to an amusement park, toured a cigarette factory and a whiskey distillery, went to the river to see the big boats, and ate White Castle hamburgers. One of my best days ever! Love you Dad.

Have a Blessed Sunday and a Happy Father’s Day.

Written by Beth on June 13, 2013 · Leave a Comment

This is one of the stamp sets that was on my favorites list. It is sometimes not easy to find ideas for masculine cards and this stamp set is perfect for that. The goose and the grasses on the left are two different stamps but to make it easier to ink and stamp I mounted them both side by side on the same block. I used ink and a blender pen to add some Always Artichoke ink to the grass. The stamp of grasses on the left looks a bit like Florida’s sea oats that grows along the beaches.

Stamps: Wetlands, Sketched Birthday

Ink: Always Artichoke, Baked Brown Sugar

Paper: Always Artichoke, Baked Brown Sugar, Vanilla, In Color Designer Series Paper Pack

Misc: Blender Pen

Thanks for stopping in,

My Flower Gardens

Written by Beth on June 12, 2013 · Leave a Comment

I have lived in Florida for 42 years and one of the things I still miss are the flowers that I loved growing up in Iowa. Lilacs, tulips, iris, forsythia, and so many more. But Florida does have it’s share of beautiful flowers and I have been working on the yard adding more color. I have always had hibiscus but I recently planted plumeria, also known as frangipani (upper right). It’s full of beautiful, sweet smelling clusters of flowers and is used to make leis in Hawaii. The lower left is a crown of thorns. The stems are full of thorns and the name alludes to the legend that the crown of thorns worn by Christ at the time of his crucifixion was made from the stems of this plant. I have it in 3 different colors and it blooms almost all the time. I don’t really have a green thumb unless I have been stamping so the best thing about these is that they are easy to grow.

We had a great stamp class tonight. Check back tomorrow and I will post a card we made using one of the new stamp sets.

Thanks for stopping by,

Favorite New Accessories

Written by Beth on June 11, 2013 · Leave a Comment

It was had to pick out favorites because there are so many new things I really like. It’s a given that any accessory that coordinates with a stamp set is a favorite. Framelets, punches, embossing folders. So in addition to those I am lovin’ the new magnetic platform for the Big Shot. No more having to use sticky notes to hold framelets in place. Here are a few more:

Washi Tape

Simply Pressed Clay

Washi Tape originates from Japan. The best way to describe washi tape is that it feels like masking tape and it’s made of paper, but is not as delicate as you would expect. It tears easily so you don’t need scissors to cut it. Simply Pressed Clay is a molding clay that can be pressed into the silicone molds to create your own embellishments. It can be easily colored by kneading ink refill into it or coloring using markers or an aquapainter and ink. The best way to get the clay out of the molds is to put them into the freezer for about 15 minutes.

Chevron Ribbon

Candy Dots

Candy dots have an adhesive back and can be used alone or added to a brad base and come in four color families. What are your favorites?

Hugs,

And The Winner Is …..

Written by Beth on June 10, 2013 · Leave a Comment

Every year I have a drawing for a free stamp set from those who purchase stamp sets from the retiring list. If two sets are purchased then that persons name goes in twice. Three sets, three time, etc. So I had several people who took advantage of getting some of those retiring stamps before they were finally gone. The winner of the free stamp set is …..

Joni Bennett

Congratulations Joni! You get your pick of any stamp set valued up to $20. Just let me know what you want and I will order it for you. You can redeem this anytime you choose.

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My Favorite New Stamp Sets

Wetlands
Clear – $16.95 Wood – $21.95

Kind and Cozy
Clear – $16.95 Wood – $21.95

Backyard Basics
Clear – $17.95 Wood – $24.95

Mosaic Madness Clear, #130249 $18.95 Wood, #130246 $26.95

Mosaic Madness
Clear- $18.95 Wood – $26.95

Simply Sketched Hostess Set
Clear – $10.00 Wood – $14.00

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

My Stamp Room

Written by Beth on June 9, 2013 · 2 Comments

Last week I mentioned my friend Jim built some shelves in my stamp room closet and I have been working on sorting through the mess that was piled in there. I think after several shelf adjustments I have it just right. It has become my new favorite “room” in my house. Each time I open the closet doors I get a thrill seeing so much organization. The shelving on the right side is a bookcase that was there when I bought my house. Jim added the white shelves on the left. What a great friend!

So I thought I would give you a look at the rest of the room where I spend so much of my time.

Stamp Room Computer Corner

Stamping Counter

My father built the counter when he was about 85 years old so it’s very special to me. There are two stamping spaces. In the windowsill are the snow globes that I have from the different places I have visited.

I don’t know why the paper storage piece of furniture has such a sagging top. There has never been anything heavy on top. But I love it for storing my paper and albums.

Making Chevrons

Written by Beth on June 8, 2013 · Leave a Comment

Chevrons are very popular these days. Just a look through the new catalog and you will see them in so many different places. On stamps, ribbon, embossing folder, Designer Series Paper, and gift bags. Recently I saw a card by Laura Lipe with directions for making them. You need card stock that has been marked every half inch so she scored it. I tried one but was not happy with the fact that the score lines showed so I revised the directions (see my directions below) and made these cards.

You need strips that are 5& 1/2″ x 1″. Instead of scoring these strips I marked one side of the card stock with pencil. I wanted to do this card in a class and didn’t want to take the time for everyone to mark their own card stock so I pre-marked the strips needed to make the chevrons. I took a whole sheet of card stock (you can start with a smaller piece depending on how many strips you want). Using my Stampin’ Trimmer, I inserted the piece of card stock just as you would do if you were scoring or cutting it. However I used a pencil in the track instead of the scoring blade. You need to make a pencil line every half inch then turn your paper and make pencil lines every half inch in the opposite direction. You wind up with a sheet that is covered with half inch pencil lined squares. It was amazingly easy and very quick to score several full size sheets. After this is done cut strips that are 5 & 1/2″ x 1″. With this strip start cutting from the bottom corner to middle pencil line, skip the next pencil line, go to the next pencil line and cut from that line to the middle pencil line. Continue this pattern until you reach the end where you wind up cutting off the triangle of that last box (see below). Turn your card stock the opposite direction and start cutting back across the row creating “V’s”, removing paper scraps the entire width of the CS. Rotate paper 180 degrees and cut the opposite side. The first strip below shows the pencil lines (some are faint). The middle strip shows the cut lines darkened so you can see the pattern. The last strip shows the bottom row of squares on the strip completely cut. You would then turn it around and cut the other side. My stampers in class were a bit overwhelmed as I was demonstrating this technique for the card they were going to make but once they started they all agreed it was very easy.

What you wind up with are the chevrons to make a great card and the bonus of a bunch of cut triangle scraps. I started to throw them away but looking at them scattered on my craft counter I could visualize a mosaic pattern so I glued some to a piece of white card stock. Since I was using By the Tide stamp set for the cards I picked up the coral stamp and stamped right over the mosaic. It created a very interesting pattern. I didn’t have time to create a card with my “trash” but here is how my experiment looked.