A Man and His Grill

We had a great weekend! We attended the Nokesville Day Parade (Aidan walked with his Tae Kwon Do class) and then BBQ'd both days since we had such beautiful weather. With all the great fun we had this weekend I thought it was only appropriate to use the King of the Grill stamp set for this weeks Stamping 411 challenge.

I started by cutting an Oval piece of Whisper White cardstock with the Coluzzle cutter along with a Pumpkin Pie mat. Using the new clear mounted stamps I was able to perfectly stamp my BBQer in the middle of the oval. Next I colored him in using an assortment of Stampin' Write markers, along with my Blender Pen and Classic Ink pads. The grill looks exactly like the Weber my husband got a couple of years ago and absolutely loves so I tried to color it to match his black and silver BBQ. I sponged the edges of the oval with Old Olive ink with the Stamping Sponge.

I used a piece of Tempting Turquoise cardstock for the cardbase with a piece of Island Oasis DSP.
I layered a piece of 1/4" Very Vanilla and 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain ribbons before tying a faux bow with both Very Vanilla and Tempting Turquoise Ribbons. The greeting is stamped with Old Olive ink and punched out with the Modern Label Punch and matted on a piece of Tempting Turquoise
that was cut out on the Big Shot with the Curly Label Bigz die and Punch Windows. Finally I added Vintage brads to the label before using dimensionals to make the greeting pop.



This is such a fun stamp set and I love how this card turned out, manly and fun all at the same time.

Have a great week!

I Did Not Forget....Stamp-a-Stack Projects

Our May Stamp-a-stack was rescheduled due to Mother's day last week I have been busy creating the remaining projects for Sunday so here are the last three cards we'll be making.

Stamp Set(s): Lovely as a Tree, Tree Triming, Tiny Tiny Wishes
That's Right, the Christmas card option has returned, isn't this too cute!!

Stamp Set(s): Lovely as a Tree, King of the Grill

Don't you just love how I used the same stamp set on two different cards and came out with such different looking cards.

Stamp Set(s): Elements of Style

This is one of my new favorite stamp sets and you'll love how we stamp and create texture with the new Lattice Embossing Folder. Also, you can't see it in the picture but the main image is sprayed with the new Very Vanilla Smooch Spritz (you have to try this stuff out!)

I hope you enjoy and we'll be stamping with you on Sunday!

Diana

Mini Catalog Carry Over Items

With Stampin' Up! having 4 different mini catalogs through out the year, in addition to the Idea Book and Catalog it can sometimes get a little confusing about what items are still available after a mini catalog sales period. Here is a list of the carry over items from the Holiday and Occasions Mini Catalogs. You can print this out and add it to your catalog as a ready reference for these great items.

A Sweet Celebration

After being out of town visiting family it was nice to be back stamping. While we had so much fun I couldn't wait to continuing playing with all the great new items from the Summer Mini Catalog and decided to use the Sweet Scoops Stamp Set for this weeks Stamping 411 challenge.

The stamped image has three ice cream cones stamped with Tempting Turquoise, Cameo Coral, Real Red and Close to Cocoa inks. I used the grain print stamp to add texture to the Tempting Turquoise scoops and Sprinkles in Real Red. To make the sprinkles really pop, I used Crystal Effects to attach some large Red Beads. I used the Pink Flamingo DSP along the bottom of the stamped image and wrapped a piece of 1/4" Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon on the seam. This was then matted on Real Red cardstock before adding it to the Tempting Turquoise card base.

The greeting is stamped with Chocolate chip ink and offset with 3 small flowers I punched out using the same Pink Flamingo DSP and the Trio Flower Punch.

I really love how this card turned out, just like I had pictured it. This is such a fun set and think you'll love it too. Make sure to RSVP for next weekends Stamp-a-stack as this will be one of cards we make.

Have a great week!

Retiring Colors - Going Fast!

Stampin' Up! had previously announced that all retiring colors would be available until June 1st when the Last Chance List is released and then would be available "while supplies last." Unfortunately I've just found out that it seems that the stock up on supplies has already started and SU! is running out of some colors as we speak. I've seen that there are issues with availablity for Mellow Moss, Close to Cocoa, and Blush Blossom just to name a few.

I would strongly advise that if there are any colors that you can not live without, please place your order NOW to make sure you have what you need. The fastest way to order is to go to my website and place your order. They ordering system will not let you finalize an order if there are items that are unavailable.

To help Stampin' Up! has announced that they will try to fulfill needs by substituting textured cardstock for smooth where available.

Below is the chart of retiring colors that will no longer be available after July 1st.

The Summer Mini Catalog Has Arrived

The 2010 Summer Mini Catalog was officially released today! I absolutely love all the great new collections and items that are available. The first item I new I had to get was everything from the Tropical collection as I loved the stamped images and designer paper (I've actually decided to plan the annual neighborhood BBQ we host every year around this collection, including the stamp set, DSP, and Bigz flower die.

This is another card I made for a swap I'm in and I hope the ladies love it as much as I do (I can just picture sitting on the beach next to the clear blue ocean water). If you want to come see and play with some of the great items from the new catalog make sure to RSVP for May's stamp-a-stack, it's sure to be a lot of fun.

Stamp Set(s): Tropical Party, Cheers to You
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Creamy Caramel, Whisper White, Island Oasis DSP
In: Old Olive, Close to Cocoa, Rose Red, Tempting Turquoise
Accessories: Slot Punch, Rose Red 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Top Note Die, Lattice Embossing Folder

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!