Shoebox Stampers

Decor Elements, flower fusion, punches, oh my!

Can you tell I really love the Wizard of Oz?  I'll try to refrain from that kind of title, at least for a little while! 

Did you know today is Floral Design Day?  During December, I held a holiday gifts and wraps class, and just now realized that I hadn't shared this candle, which is perfect for today because it is all about the flowers!  It was one of my favorite projects, what with the flowers, colors, etc!  And it was so easy!  I applied the Decor Elements first, then added flowers.  I am hesitant to place things without "testing" it, so I put a dot of adhesive on a petal or the center of a flower, laid out my design, then used my paper piercer from the Crafters' tool kit to start the holes for the brads.  The hodgepodge hardware I simply curved by hand, making the curve greater than the curve of the candle so that it would hold tight. 

To wrap the candle, I copied how it was packaged at the $1 store!  We cut the bottom of a large cello bag, then trimmed near the seam.  Then I simply wrapped the cello bag around the candle, taped, and wrapped the top and bottom, finishing off with tape. 

Warm words stamp set, chocolate chip ink, flower decor elements (demo only), flower fusion II, three for you & boho blossoms punch, large oval punch, pretties kit, sylized silver hodgepodge hardware, ice round rhinestone brads, soft subtles & rich regals brads

Wish shoe stampin' fun!

Rebecca

A clean joke

Well, not really!  I've had stamping friends lately with dirty stamps who have asked how to keep their stamps clean, so I thought I would address that again.  You can use water, but it could dry out your rubber and cause it to crack and rot.  You can also use baby wipes, but the chemicals, though not as drying as straight water, may have an adverse reaction to your rubber as well.

So the best thing to use?  Our Stampin' scrub and stampin' mist.  The scrub had two sides with soft bristles to get in the cracks of your favorite stamps and clean out residual ink so the images are ready to go the next time you pull them out for a project.  Why two sides?  One side stays dry while the other side is spritzed with our mist so that you can better clean the rubber of your stamps.  The stampin' mist is specially formulated to not only rid your images of ink, but also to condition the rubber so it lasts longer.  And considering the investment that you have in each stamp set, you really want them to last as long as possible with clear, clean images. 

If you have any other questions, let me know.  I am sure others might have the same one, and I can address them so everyone has their question answered!

Wish shoe stampin' fun!

Rebecca

Welcome, Lent!

Every year for Lent I give up something, which I am doing again this year though it's rather extensive.  It boils down to no snacks or soda.  That's the easiest way to say it.

But I've also added something else, inspired by my brother-in-law Kevin (he's a clean comedian and you can see his short act here).  One year soon after he and my sister married, he vowed to something nice for someone each day, so you might see him holding a door open, carrying groceries for a neighbor, or such.  He's also become quite involved with his church and religion.  So he inspired me to form my other lenten vow: to pray more.  Specifically, I'd like to start and end the day with a "thank you," and build up from there. 

And, in light of my Lenten vow, I thought I'd share a card from my favorite spiritual stamp set, Refuge and strength.  The harlequin print called Print pattern is retired (but I have mine left for sale!!!) but you could always substitute something else.  I think that the saying is so appropriate, for me, at least "In those times I can't seem to find God, I rest in the assurance that He knows how to find me" by Neva Coyle (she is an author with several fiction and dieting books). 

So what are you giving up?  Or doing differently?  Okay, okay, enough about religion!

Wish shoe stampin' fun!

Rebecca

Mardi Gras madness!

I know there's a lot of associations with Mardi Gras, but for me, it is a time of enjoyment...you know, of those things I plan to give up for Lent!

So yes, today, I have had a coffee, shared a donut with my son, and had a bit of chocolate.  Later, I plan to snack on some Starburst candy, if my kids haven't found them, drink a cold A&W cream soda, and perhaps have some chocolate ice cream with peanut butter.  This way I will be ready for the 40 days of Lent.  (You notice, I haven't said stamping!  I don't plan on giving that one up!)

What do you do for Mardi Gras?  I'm just wondering if there's something I'm missing.  Whatever you do, Happy Mardi Gras!

Wish shoe stampin' fun!

Rebecca

Tennis anyone?

I am a member of the Business Stampers' Coaching Group, which helps stamping business owners like myself build a solid business by having challenges, ideas, tips, support and information (If you'd like more information, you can email me or check it out here).  This weekend's challenge was to use something that I haven't used yet but has been in my stash for a while.  This was such good timing...

My good friend and tennis player, Sarah, is turning 40 next weekend, and another tennis player friend of ours, Chris, held a surprise party this weekend.  It was so fun to see everyone without chasing kids (thanks, Mom and Dad!).  Since she is an avid tennis player (we played when Hurricane Ike was blowing through with winds over 40 mph - I earned some points just because the ball would blow inbounds!)  I wanted to use our Just Tennis stamp set (which I've actually had in hand since Christmas because it was supposed to be a holiday card!).  I paired it with garden green and summer sun, which felt like tennis to me, and used kraft cardstock as a base for something that wouldn't distract from the focal point of the card - the tennis rackets and balls.  I added some kraft taffeta ribbon because I couldn't help myself, and finished it off with a sentiment from Sincere Salutations (we received that one free for Christmas a couple years ago!).  Simple card, but I think she liked it!

What have you been hoarding?  With this challenge, I realized I have a Simply sent kit waiting to be opened, a couple stamp sets that haven't been cut,  rub-ons that haven't been used...

Wish shoe stampin' fun!

Rebecca

Open house projects continued

Here are the other two projects - I found this little box online.  It uses two of our scallop envelope die cuts with a one inch strip to hold them together.  So easy and fun!  The envelopes are bashful blue cardstock with a certainly celery strip lined with a strip of the Delicate dots designer series paper.  The focal image uses two stamps from Polka dot punches combined with our scallop, 1 3/8 inch circle, and 1 1/4 inch circle punches. 

Plus it holds our 3x3 cards, so I added another one to this event using our new Fashion Forward wheel (I love it!)  I used kraft cardstock (my new favorite neutral!) with the Candy lane designer series paper.  I just had to use the scallop edge punch and added the sentiment from Short & sweet with the large oval punch in pink pirouette cardstock.

If I'd thought of this sooner, I would have made the cards to coordinate with the bag, but they are still so cute, plus you can put some really yummy chocolate in there too! 

If you haven't registered for the class yet, it's full (I know, that's so sad) but you can still get the completed kit below, but just until Sunday evening, so be fast!

Wish shoe stampin' fun!

Rebecca

Like mother, like daughter!

I had to share this with you...while I was prepping for tomorrow's class, my daughter decided to help!  She pulled out her notebook and started scratching about in there.  I finished putting her brothers in bed and was about to get myself ready when she told me she had something to show me.  So I followed her downstairs and found that she had left out a snack for me (ice cold milk in my favorite purple wine glass with a chocolate and a granola bar) and made some sketches for ideas!  Here are some of my favorites:

 

Can you see that she included notes?  Even colors?  I didn't think she'd ever even seen my sketches!

I love the flowers!  What a great idea...I kinda borrowed that idea for one of tomorrow night's projects.  You'll see it early tomorrow!

 

She's a little ahead of me!  I can't wait to see what she comes up with next! 

Wish shoe stampin' fun!

Rebecca

Sale-a-brating the new catalog Friday night!

This Friday I am going to share some great ideas for several of our new products, including Sale-a-bration!  For just $10, you'll create five projects (at least three of which are cards) using new stuff (embosslits, textured dies, stamp sets, buttons, ribbon, wheels, etc). 

This one totally CASE's the one from the new video for demo's (have I told you I love being a demo because I get access to technique videos just for us???).  The layout is the same - I changed the flower (that was so easy, embossed and cut at the same time!), the DSP, and the button (just baja breeze instead of so saffron).  But I have a thing for 3x3 love notes, so this one is perfect!

When I saw this stamp set (Once upon a time), I knew I just had to have it - great for weddings, anniversaries, girls, Disney trips, Valentine's...I wanted to add some bling, but I wanted something other than our dazzling diamonds, so used some of our chunky glitter.  Too much?  I don't think so...

Okay, I LOVE my texturz plates!  Yes, that's what made the imprint on the bottom!  I can't wait to use the other plates - they are so easy and fast but have so much impact.  Plus, I've used three Sale-a-bration items - polka dot punches stamp set, ribbon bundle, and Designer dots paper. 

I hope you can make it - you can use the paypal link below or you can email me straightaway.  Hope to stamp with you Friday!

If you can't make it and you'd like your kit completed, use the following paypal link.  All five projects will be just $15 including shipping (any 3-D items will be shipped flat with instructions for assembly). 

Wish shoe stampin' fun!

Rebecca

A bit of a history lesson...

Now that Valentine's Day is over and we've sent (and hopefully received!) our cards, you might have a moment to relax.  I love trivia (did you know that having a pet used to signify wealth, and that coffee is a commodity second only to oil, and that someone who collects thimbles - like me - is called a digitabulist?), so have wondered why we send cards. In case you've been wondering too, I found this little bit of trivia - you could share it with someone who wonders too!

The History of Greeting Cards
(from the Postcard and Greeting Card Museum - www.emotionscards.com)

Sending greeting cards to friends and family is a tradition that goes back about 200 years. They were mostly sent by the elite and wealthy in the early to mid 1800's. Most of the early greeting cards were hand delivered and many were quite expensive, but they soon gained mass popularity with the introduction of the world's first postage stamp issued in 1840 and a few ambitious printer's and manufacturer's perfecting printing methods, hiring artists and designed both elaborate expensive cards as well as simple affordable ones by the 1850's.

As you visit our galleries you will see that cards of the past were fine pieces of art. Manufacturer's used quality artists and many of the large manufacturer's held "art" competitions to generate interest and to get new ideas for cards. Some of these competitions awarded as much as $1,000.00 to the winner!

The oldest known greeting card in existence is a Valentine made in the 1400's and is in the British Museum. New Year's cards can be dated back to this period as well, but the New Year greeting didn't gain popularity until the late 1700's. The Valentine and Christmas Card were the most popular cards, with Valentine's offering us the most "mechanical", "pop-up" and filigree cards, followed by Christmas, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Halloween and Thanksgiving. Cards gained their highest popularity in the late 1800's and early 1900's offering us cards with some of the most unusual art. The Victorian age give us the most prolific cards.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages, when lovers said or sang their Valentines. Written Valentines began to appear after 1400. Paper Valentines were exchanged in Europe where they were given in place of Valentine gifts. Handmade paper Valentines were especially popular in England. In the mid to early 1800's, Valentines began to be assembled in factories. Early manufactured Valentines were black and white pictures painted by workers in a factory. Esther Howland known as the Mother of the Valentine made fancy Valentines with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap". She introduced the Paper Lace Valentine in the mid 1800's. By the end of the 1800's, Valentines were being made entirely by machine.

Christmas cards were introduced and popularized by John Calcott Horsley, the artist of what is known as the world's first Christmas Card and Louis Prang, known as the Father of the American Christmas Card.

The rest is History. With the exchange of New Year's, Valentine's, Easter, St. Patrick's Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Birthday Cards, just to name a few, there is probably no occasion that doesn't have its own greeting card!

Yes, cards are a great way to send wishes to someone else, but you can do that with the phone and email now.  So why do we still do it?  Let me know why you still send greeting cards - is it because you like to create, you like to spread happiness?  What is it all about?

Wish shoe stampin' fun!

Rebecca

Check out the new video!

Stampin' Up! has released a new video for our SU Business websites - it showcases some new Big Shot dies and goes step by step to create cards, scrapbook pages, and a small gift bag while also showing Sale-a-bration sets.  And while you are checking out the video, make sure to view the various projects, including a couple found below.

This one also uses a Sale-a-bration stamp set, Yummy, and the ribbon bundle, plus the Top Note die for the Big Shot.  Looks like fun, doesn't it?

This one also uses a Big Shot die called Baskets and blooms.  I think I like it just because it's pink, or maybe it's the bit of chocolate chip cookie I can see peeking from within!

If you've thought of purchasing the Big Shot, now is the time.  When you purchase the starter kit, you save money, plus you can choose three FREE Sale-a-bration sets!  Add on an ink pad or another die, and you can choose a fourth!  Or even, better, join my group and save 20% off everything, plus get the free Sale-a-bration items.  So what are you waiting for???

Wish shoe stampin' fun!

Rebecca