Shoebox Stampers

KC Regionals swaps

Oh, did I forget to tell you I was going to Regionals?  I love Regionals so much that I can't believe I forgot!  Here are my three swaps - I was only able to create 100 cards (I was packing still when I was supposed to be leaving so my mom and daughter spent the card ride adding the recipe and contact information!)

I wanted to use the bird from the Bird and blooms sizzlet, create a holiday card, and use my new Snow Swirled stamp set, so I came up with this.  It uses pink pirouette, kiwi kiss, riding hood red, and elegant eggplant inks on the faux silk technique block.  Then I used Heard from the heart for the sentiment in elegant eggplant. 

The second card uses the new Season of simple grace that will be in the upcoming Holiday mini catalog.  I also used the brayered sky technique for the background.  I have told you I love purple, so had to try it!  The sky is created with pretty in pink, pale plum, and perfect plum.  I used encore gold ink pad for the star and a piece of brushed gold cardstock for matting the focal image.  And I love ribbon, and what's better than ribbon in my favorite eggplant color? 

The last card is a simple one, using my new Upsy daisy set and the Washington apple DS paper.  I can't wait to use that set more, maybe even create a holiday card with it.  I used riding hood red and so saffron cardstock and my new favorite key tag punch.  Simple but nice, my favorite kind of card!

So which one is your favorite?  Let me know - I really thought the first card with the bird would not go over well, but it seems a great many demos really liked it!  And if you were thinking about getting Snow swirled or Upsy daisy, make sure to go to my Stampin' Up! website and order your set before Wednesday to get the discount! 

Wish shoe stampin' fun!

Rebecca

Crayons and kids!

For my Birthday class, we created a card using scraps, my favorite kind!  These are just 1/2 inch strips cut to size in the rainbow spectrum!  Very simple!  Then I used the Deer friends hostess set for the centerpiece.  I really like that this set came with a gift - I can use it beyond the holidays that way!

And the notepad is just too fun!  I used a bookmark topped by an "A" to create the basic template, then added Riding hood red prints pattern DSP, plus a couple mini strips of black.  Using the large and small oval and an expression from Everyday flexible phrases, added the "color."  Finally, I bound it with my rubicoil.  My daughter just loved it.  I'll have to ask my son - it would be good gifts for his birthday party since I can make pinks and purples for the girls and reds, blues and oranges for the boys!

Wish shoe stampin' fun!

Rebecca

Gift for the man of your life

Aren't they just so difficult?  I have the hardest time trying to find a gift for the men in my life, let alone a card!  How is that???  (I really think it's that their toys are so expensive and maybe, just maybe, they feel a little aprehensive to ask for them!)  So for my Birthday class I held last week, we created birthday sets for guys, gals and kids, but I wanted to share the guys' gift first since I know many of us have trouble with that!
 
So first we created the card, which uses DS paper, buttons, the square scallop punch, and the Ronald McDonald set, Say it with scallops.  I used basic gray, and brocade blue cardstock and basic gray taffeta ribbon.  I don't know what it is about that basic gray, but it's one of my favorite colors!  But the best part of this card is the inside!  I cut the cardstock 5 1/2 by 12, then scored at 4 1/4, 6 and 7 1/4 along the length.  I valley folded the paper to create a "W", and then used the word window punch to create the opening for a gift card!  What else do you give the guy who has everything, or who wants a very expensive toy?

The pillow box is simply an extension of the card, and uses the Pillow box die for our new Big shot.  Very easy to create, it is cut and scored when you remove it from the pads.  Then I just decorated it with the accessories and stamp set from the card.  It can be filled with candy or another small gift.

Stamp set: Pocket silhouettes, Hugs & wishes
Paper: Whisper white, brocade blue, night of navy, basic gray, DS paper
Ink: Brocade blue & night of navy 
Accessories: Sponge, square scallop punch, word window punch, RR buttons, basic gray taffeta ribbon, crochet thread

Wish shoe stampin' fun!

Rebecca

Just can't decide!

So I have a swap due (this is when you make several of one design, mail them to a swap hostess who receives them and divides them out, then mails them back, so you end up with several different ideas) and I needed to use the new set, Season of simple grace, coming out in the holiday mini starting Oct 1 (demonstrators can purchase them ahead of time - what a benefit!).  When I saw this set, my first thought was brayered sky technique, but I didn't want to do the snow (is there snow in Bethlehem?) so I used the Sahara sand cardstock for the "ground."  I created the sky, then stamped the "ground" with Itty bitty backgrounds.  Then it was a matter of finishing it.  But I wasn't crazy about it so...

I created another one!  The second one adds bashful blue ribbon (one of my favorite accessories) and the Sanded background (you know, for the sand in the middle east?)  I sure hope the swap hostess likes it!

Let me know which one you like! I'd love to hear what you think!

Stamp set: Season of simple grace, Sanded (on 2nd card)
Paper: Night of navy, brocade blue, brushed gold, sahara sand
Ink: Sahara sand, night of navy, brocade blue, bashful blue, basic black, encore gold and bashful blue craft
Accessories: gold brads (on 1st card), bashful blue taffeta ribbon (on 2nd card)

Wish shoe stampin' fun!

Rebecca

Spiders for Halloween!

I just love the cooling of the weather and the great colors of this time of year! 

I mentioned in my newsletter that Stampin' Up! will be releasing new Decor Elements products soon, and we have a sneak peek!  This spider is so adorable and comes in three sizes!  The container featured is actually from Target (I haven't made it there yet - let me know if they are all out!).  The spider decal comes with a thin strip that you can use to create the look of the web (check out the lid) as the spider drops down.  Wouldn't this be cute for a door, window, picture frame?  And it comes in white too, so you could dress up your tinted windows on your car for Halloween!  Just go to my Stampin' Up! website at www.shoeboxstampers.stampinup.net, click "shop now" in the top right corner, and you can use these order numbers:

Black	White	Description	Price
114761	114764	Spooky Spider Décor Elements (S)	$5.95
114762	114765	Spooky Spider Décor Elements (M)	$10.95
114763	114766	Spooky Spider Décor Elements (L)	$14.95

and you can have it shipped directly to you!  And when you finish your project, share it with me!  I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Wish shoe stampin' fun!

Rebecca

Smooth as faux silk

This is one of my favorite techniques that we revisited this month.  It is so easy and you can do so much with it!  You simply stamp a piece of tissue (like what you would put in a gift bag).  Scrunch it up, then smooth it over a piece of cardstock that is covered with glue from a glue stick and smaller than the piece of tissue paper.  (You'll have some wrinkles and that's perfect!)  Turn the piece over and wrap the tissue paper to the back side.  Then simply use as desired! 

This is the card we created when I originally showed this technique.  I just love the browns in that one!  And this is the technique page we created as reference.  I can see this one working itself into many projects!

Leave a comment and let me know what you think!  I'd love to hear from you!

Wish shoe stampin' fun!

Rebecca

Okay, so it's a late spring snow!

Yes, I know, you don't usually see snow and butterflies at the same time, but I really wanted to use my new set, Eastern Blooms for this project!  This is called brayered sky, and it's simple for the most part.  I tore the top edge of a post-it note (keeping some of the adhesive) and laid that over the bottom part of my whisper white cardstock.  Using my brayer, I added bashful blue to the whole piece.  Then I brayered brocade blue over the top 2/3rds, pushing my brayer down further to eliminate the line of ink.  I brayered night of navy over the top 1/3, again pushing my brayer down to eliminate the line of ink.  I sponged a bit of night of navy at the "horizon" line.  Finally, I stamped the butterfly and flowers in basic black ink and added stems with a basic black Stampin' Write marker.  A few steps, but a lot of punch.  I love it with purples too, or pinks, or oranges, you get the picture!

Let me know what you think, and share your creation if you try this technique out! 

Happy stampin!

Rebecca

A pizza box full of techniques

 For my Techniques Revisited class, we created a 4x4 pizza box using the faux denim technique.  Very cute, though I think the faux denim might work better with blues.  And of course, you can't have an empty pizza box, so we filled it with 3x3 notecards.  I chose chocolate chip, riding hood red, more mustard, not quite navy, and kiwi kiss as my colors for this project.  Not my usual color scheme, but I am suddenly taking a liking to not quite navy!

The first one uses Lovely as a tree with the thumping and reflection techniques.  Very easy, but with a lot of punch!  I simply inked the tree stamp with kiwi kiss,  then bounced the other marker colors over the stamp, huffed to re-moisten, then stamped.  I immediately huffed and stamped again on acetate (a transparency sheet), flipped it over and matched it to the image upside down, then rubbed over the ink on the acetate. 

The second one uses bleaching, which is simply stamping with a towel full of bleach instead of an inkpad.  This is a smelly technique, and works best with new Clorox. 

 The next one uses polished stone but without the metallic ink.  It reminds me of a cloudy sunset, looking up at the sky.  It simply r equires a cotton ball soaked in alcohol with a dot of each ink color.  Then you pounce all over glossy cardstock until the white is gone to get your design.  It is different every time!

The last one is one of my favorite techniques.  It is called aged tiles, and you simply stamp your image, then cut your cards ock into lengthwise strips.  Then cut these horizontally wherever you would like to create tiles.  Using creamy caramel ink and a sponge, edge each piece, then assemble on your finished card.  A word of caution: make sure to keep track to your "puzzle" pieces, as sometimes it is difficult to put them back together correctly!

I would love to create tutorials for these techniques, so be on the watch for that.  Leave a comment and let me know what you think, and when you get brave, try one of these techniques and let me see what you come up with!

Happy stampin'!

Rebecca

The story in the pretzel candy

Have you noticed there's a story behind most every recipe you have?  The recipe I want to share this month came from an article in Creating Keepsakes, though it wasn't the focus of the article.  It was actually in a recipe scrapbook!  During class, Michelle and her mom, Sheila, let me know these are called bellybuttons, and they love to make them with red and green M&M's for Christmas. It's so simple too!  Just three  ingredients: pretzels, Hershey's hugs, and M&M's.  That's it!  You simply heat your oven to 200 degrees.  On a cookie sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper, you lay out your pretzels, unwrap your hugs, then place one on each pretzel.  Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and carefully place an M&M (or two!) on each hug.  Allow to cool (they are great cold) and enjoy!  My kids love to help, and they are fast and easy to make! 

When you make them, leave a comment and let me know what you think.  And if you change it any, share that too!

Happy stampin'!

Rebecca

Free stamps with Country Living subscription!

You might remember that this time last year Country Living collaborated with Stampin' up! and published a spread about decorating for Thanksgiving using Stampin' Up! stamps, inks, and papers to create a beautiful table layout and accessories.  Right now when you subscribe to Country Living magazine, you get a full year for just $12 plus a free mini stamp kit with your paid subscription!  This special is only available here as far as I can find so make sure to take advantage of it before it's gone!  It'll be a good start on your holiday gift cards - you'll have to show me what you come up with!

And make sure to keep checking back about information for this year's special exclusive stamp set!  It's a beautiful offering that I can't wait to get my hands on!  I think the magazine article will be great too!