Sneak Peak - Four Frames

Today I'm very excited to share a sneak peak at a new stamp set and designer paper that will be in the new Idea Book and Catalog starting in July. This is the new Four Frames stamp set and Paisley Petals DSP. In addition to these new items, this card also uses the Cherry Cobler Seam Binding Ribbon, Antique Brads, Decorative Label Punch, and Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set.

Starting Friday, and throughout the rest of April you to can get your hands on these great new items. There are two ways to get them:

* Place an order of $20 or more and you can purchase the stamp set and DSP, or

* Host a workshop totalling $350 or more and you can get both the stamp set and designer paper for FREE!

Enjoy!

Birthday Wishes - Stamping 411 Sketch Challenge

What an eventful weekend!  Some stamping friends came over Friday night for open stamping and then I went to the Nothern Virginia Demo shoebox swap Saturday morning and not only made some beautiful cards but met some great new demonstrators in the area.  Then we spent the rest of the weekend with the family on early birthday celebrations since I'll be traveling for work this week.  I was also able to spend some time in the studio and made this beautiful card for this weeks Stamping 411 challenge. 

This card definately has a vintage feel, which I've been really trying to work on lately.  The card is pretty straight forward so I'll just highlight some of the highlights.  The background is Pear Pizzaz cardstock that was run through the Big Shot with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing folder.  Then I sponged the paper with Pear Pizzaz ink to help make the image pop (we did this at the shoebox swap yesterday and I loved the added dimension).  Then I used the Eyelet border punch on the Not Quite Navy cardstock as a mat for the Springtime Vintage DSP.  The greeting is from the Occasional Quotes Hostess Stamp Set and it punched out with the Decorative Label Punch.  The ribbon is the fabulous Baja Breeze Seam Binding Ribbon and I added three Metallic brads in the top right corner. 

I love how beautiful this card turned out!

Have a great week and happy stamping,

Diana

Thankful Butterflies - Stamping 411 Sketch Challenge

Good evening.  This is definately my favorite time of year, I love the warm weather and all the trees and flowers starting to bloom.  Since spring is all around us it's only fitting that it's the inspiration for this weeks Stamping 411 challenge.  I was initially thrown by this sketch but then I figured it was a great opportunity to showcase multiple prints from the Greenhouse Gala DSP, which has quickly become one of my favorite paper packs. 

There's nothing overly challenging about this card so I figured I would just highlight some of the key items:  I used the Vintage Wallpaper Texture Embossing Folder for the background, 5/8" Early Espresso Grosgrain Ribbon, Beautiful Butterflies Embosslet die for the butterfly cutouts, basic rhinestones for accents on the butterflies, and the Perfect Punches stamp set for the greeting.

Here's the sketch, pretty cool!  I love how bright and cheery this card is, it definately screams spring!

Just a reminder that Friday is PMS (Pizza, Movies, Stamps) night starting at 7:30.  Please let me know know if you'll be joining us, it's sure to be a lot of fun!

Hope you enjoy and have a great week!

Diana

Cheers to You, with Green Beer!

This week’s card for the Stamping 411 sketch challenge was definitely influenced by all our recent St. Patrick’s Day festivities. While I don’t mail cards to everyone for all holidays I do like to give my son and husband a little something to let them know I love them. I’ve been meaning to make my husband’s card and knew when I saw the challenge that I could cross off two things on my list as once. I used the Cheers to You stamp set to make green beer (perfect for St. Patty’s day) as the main images and used a Blender Pen and Garden Green ink to color in the beer. To make the frothy foam I actually shaved Whisper White Cardstock with my scissors to basically create “fuzzies” that I attached to the card with crystal effects, (you can only image what my studio and clothes looked like after 20 minutes of paper shaving) but I really like the end result.

The white piece of paper in the back was stamped with Wild Wasabi and Garden Green ink and the Got Treats stamp set before running it through the Big Shot with the Lattice die. The rest of the card is pretty straight forward, the ribbon is Certainly Celery Taffeta and the greeting is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set (the best greeting set ever!)

Now check out the sketch we were provided. Not the most elegant card but Chris is going to love it and it’s perfect for this holiday.

Before I sign off I wanted to share a picture from this weekend that helped get me in the mood, Aidan and I along with some neighbors attended the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Old Town Manassas on Saturday.

Aidan and I love to get all dressed up so this is before we left for the parade. It was pretty cold but we still had a good time!

Happy St. Patrick's Day and happy stamping,

Diana

Cupcakes are for Birthdays

Happy Friday!

Today I wanted to share a fun project that is sure to brighten up anyone's birthday.  This card uses the Create a Cupcake stamp set and matching Build a Cupcake punch.  The colors for the card come straight from the Ice Cream Parlor DSP and ribbon (both you can get for free the rest of the month during Sale-a-bration) who doesn't love free stuff?  This is a pretty straight forward card, so I won't bore you with all the details, needless to say it was fun and simple to make.

Who doesn't love cupcakes on their birthday?

Have a great day,

Diana

March Stamp-a-Stack

Just wanted to drop a quick note to show you three of the projects that we'll be making at this months stamp-a-stack (I'm waiting for an order to arrive later this week with paper for the last card).  These are so much fun and you'll absolutely love this great new technique that uses a white crayon (the original card idea is from the super talented Selene Kempton).

SAS will be this Sunday, March 13 at 2:00 PM.  We'll be making 8 cards (2 each of 4 designs) for $15.  There are still a couple of spots so RSVP soon to reserve your spot.

Have a great week and hope to see you Sunday!

Diana

Sketch Challenge - Birthday Bakery

What a great weekend!  We finally had a weekend where were didn't have several commitments, we were actually able to just relax and enjoy.  This also means that I was able to get some quality, dedicated time in the craft studio (whoo hoo!).  The very first project was a card for this weeks Stamping 411 challenge.  This was an unusual challenge in that I don't normally make square cards, but it ended up being a lot of fun. 

The main focal image is from the Birthday Bakery stamp set (what a fun set you can get for free by hosting a workshop!)  that was colored in with Stampin' Write markers.  I added a piece of Pretty in Pink DSP and Pear Pizazz cardstock that was punched with the scallop edge punch.  The greeting was stamped with Early Espresso ink on the DSP.  The next layer is a piece of Whisper White Cardstock that was run through the Big Shot with the Polka Dot Embossing Folder before matting it on Early Espresso cardstock.  I wrapped a piece of Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon and Early Espresso 1/8" Taffeta ribbon around this layer of cardstock.  The bow is made with the same Early Espresso ribbon and a silver brad (which match the 3 silver brads in the top left corner of the cardstock.  The last step was attaching all these layers onto a piece of pretty pink carstock which was cut at 5 1/4" x 11" and folded in half to make the square cardbase.

Now check our this weeks sketch sample.  A fresh and fun card that I decided to send to my mom for her birthday this week (love you mom!).

Hope you enjoyed this project and have a great week!

Happy stamping,

Diana

Birthday Wishes - Game Style

Today I wanted to share the birthday card I made for my little one’s birthday a couple of weeks ago. Aidan loves to get cards and is really appreciative when someone makes him a card or colors him a picture. I decided to use the Take a Spin stamp set and new game spinner hands to make a fun card. I started with a base of Wild Wasabi cardstock. I used a piece of Celebrations DSP and attached it to Real Red Cardstock and wrapped a piece of Bashful Blue ¼” Grosgrain ribbon (retired) on the seam.

The main image was stamped with Pacific Point ink on Whisper White cardstock. Then I used my Stampin’ Write markers to color in the various images on the stamp (birthday cake, package, candles, etc.). I used my 1/16” handheld punch to punch a hole in the middle for the game spinner hand. Instead of using the standard brad that came with the spinners I used a Real Red brad. Once completed I matted the image to a piece of Wild Wasabi cardstock before attaching to the card.

Very easy and Aidan loved it! (we actually made a similar version of this card during last months stamp-a-stack). This is such a fun stamp set and I can see several other great ideas, including reward ribbons, etc.

Have a great day!

Diana