Stamping Madly: Cardmaking & Papercrafting Instruction and Supplies

Stampers in the Garden

The Mad Stampers will be making cards inspired by the colors in my garden for the June tutorials.  More flowers--big surprise, huh?!  Here's the clean and simple version:

I have to work at it to keep things simple--in fact I usually start by making the stepped up version and then step it down, instead of the other way around. This month I wanted to give club members a fancy folds tutorial.  The Easel Card is simple to make, but the WOW factor is huge.

Do you want to know how you can earn the FREE tutorials for all the monthly projects?  Click here to go to the Mad Stampers Club website.  Sign up by the10th, and you'll get the June tutorials.  Then you can join me and all the other Mad Stampers in the garden!

Fanciful Flowers--Last Chance

Fanciful flowers grace this summery card, made with the retiring set, Flower Fancy.  You can also see the grass background from Inspired by Nature, set against fluffy white clouds in a blue sky.  This is your last chance to order these and other retiring products, as they are only available until midnight (MT) tomorrow.

You can tell this set has been around for a while, as neither the Green Galore or Ballet Blue I used in this card are available anymore--they retired in the Great Color Revolution of 2010.

Flower Fancy is a 2-Step set, a really fun kind to use.  It has both outline stamps (the green lines of flowers and leaves)and fill stamps (the yellow inside the outlines). 

If you've never tried a 2-Step stamp set, I highly recommend you do.  Be sure to use a Stamp-a-ma-jig so you can position the coordinating outline and fill stamps correctly.

Don't miss out on your Last Chance to order Flower Fancy and other retiring products--click here to view them all in my Online Stampin' Up! Store.

Ready, Set, Get Organized!

Are you organized and ready for all the new products you want to order from the 2012 Stampin' Up! Catalog? 

• Do you shudder at the thought of trying to find room for the new supplies you'll be ordering?

• Is your craft room already so disorganized that you have no idea where to put your new supplies when the UPS truck delivers them?

• Will the chaos in your craft room ruin the excitement of opening the box from Stampin' Up!?

If part of you thinks "she's talking about me," then let me offer some help:

Save Time and Get Organized, a Class for Paper Crafters with Clutter!

This online class will help you make your stamp room a joy to create in, and teach you great tricks for getting the most out of your paper crafting time!


Click here to learn how to turn chaos into order in your craft room!

Get your craft room ready now, so instead of fretting over where you'll put everything, you'll be able to sit down and play with all your new toys!

Get ready, and get organized:  Sign up for Save Time and Get Organized today!

Lest We Forget . . .

Memorial Day gives us a three-day weekend that has come to mean the beginning of summer with all the barbecues, celebrations, and fireworks that start it off with a bang! 

We get a three-day weekend, a welcome break from the 40 hour time-clock.  The RV's seem to hatch all at once and begin their annual migration through the country.

The original and deeper meaning of the holiday is that it is a day of rememberance and gratitude for all the soldiers who have died defending our country, our beliefs, and our freedoms.

Let us not forget how blessed we are to live with the freedoms in this land that others would (and do) die for every day.

It's a Guy Thing

Lo and behold, I do take a detour from my flowery, girlie cards to make a guy thing from time to time!  The Well Worn Designer Series Paper and Valentine Love Stamp Set created the perfect Valentine for a man.  Since both of these items will be unavailable after May 31st, I thought I'd include this sample on the tour if retiring products.

Stampin' Up! is great at supplying me with sets for my flowery cards, but I find it lacking much variety for creating masculine cards.  So I was delighted with the Well Worn DSP, and I think every one of the men among my friends and family got a card made with it.  And you know how much I love the vintage look, so this DSP got a lot of use this year!

Valentine Love is a set that will work for either a man or a woman, and has just enough vintage flavor that it inspired more than one of my cards.  You may remember this one from the February Mad Stampers Club.

If you can imagine all the fun you could have with Well Worn DSP and Valentine Love, then order them today at my Online Stampin' Up! Store.

Well Worn Designer Series Paper #122359

 

Valentine Love
W #122695, C #122697

If you haven't ordered all the retiring products you want yet, don't delay!  You have less than a week before they're gone for good!  Add these two items to your order so you can make some guy things, too!

Bye Bye Fancy Fan

Time to say goodbye to the Fancy Fan Letterpress Plate.  Unless, of course, you make sure to order it by May 31st!  Don't you just love the elegant background it created in this sample?

This card also shows off two of my favorite stamp sets that are retiring:  Growing Green and You're a Gem.

May 31st is only 10 days away!  Be sure you've ordered everything you want from the Retiring Lists before they're gone for good!  Click Here to view and order Retiring Products from my Online Stampin' Up! Store. 

Either order them today, or say Bye Bye forever to Fancy Fan and hundreds of other great Stampin' Up! products.

Smooching Good Fun!

I had some smooching good fun creating this card, using the Summer Smooches Designer Series Paper and Daffodil Delight 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon.

I'm not often drawn to paper with bold or busy designs, but this one kept calling to me, so I was bound and determined to use it as a background.  It turned out to make a perfect backdrop for the multi-layered flower (Fun Flowers Die).

After seeing all the 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon on the Retiring Accessories List, I was curious about the new Stitched Grosgrain that is replacing it.  Here's what I like best about the new ribbon--it is a lot softer than the old Grosgrain, and that makes tying attractive bows much easier. 

If you like bows on your projects, I think you're really going to like the 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon.  With ten different colors to choose from, you'll be embellishing everything--even the kids and dog!  (Well, only if they'll hold still long enough.)

Be sure you let me know if you want a FREE catalog (sage@stampingmadly.com), then get ready for a smooching good time!

Got Catalog?

I've got a stack of new 2012 Stampin' Up! Catalogs ready to send out to all my customers this week.  Is your name on one of them?

You're going to love this catalog!  It is full of new stamp sets, embellishments, papers, and more!  I can hardly wait until June 1st to place my order.  How about you?

If you want me to send you a FREE 2012 catalog, just email me at sage@stampingmadly.com.

Scoring Big with Beautiful Backgrounds

Remember the beautifully scored background in this card?  

I showed the scoring technique very briefly in a video when the Simply Scored Diagonal Plate was introduced by Stampin' Up!  http://youtu.be/18-jKu8DnjU

Since then, I've had some questions about the technique, and realized I needed to do a video with the complete instructions.  Here it is, just for you, just because you asked for it:

In case you're wondering, the stamp set I used for this card is another retiring set, Happiness Shared.

Leave a comment and let me know if the video helps clarify your questions.  Then make sure you have Simply Scored and the Diagonal Plate so you can Score Big with Beautiful Backgrounds!

The Hot Tip Queen and Smooch Spritzes

If you get frustrated when your Smooch Spritzes get clogged, The Hot Tip Queen has some tips for you. 

The nozzle on the tube get clogged easily because the hole is really tiny and the Smooch Spritz liquid is a bit thick and gummy.  They usually work well the first few times you use them, but eventually they tend to make big splotches or not spray at all.  Yuck!

Spritzing gives a casual bit of texture to your projects, whether you use the Color Spritzer and Markers, or Smooch Spritz.  It is always an imprecise technique, so you'll have to tame any perfectionist tendencies.  With the Smooches you also get shimmer, which I especially like, so I had to find a way to use them without the frustration.

Sometimes all you need to do is remove the cap, unscrew the nozzle from the glass tube, and rinse it with warm water.  Just put the water in a jar (you can add a little Windex or a mild cleaning liquid if you like) and swirl the nozzle around in it to dissolve the dried Smooch from the outside of the nozzle.  Then put the end of the little plastic tube (don't disconnect it from the nozzle) in the water and spray a few times so the water rinses the inside of the nozzle.

Here's what you can do when the nozzle gets hopelessly clogged, and all the rinsing doesn't work:

1. Buy 2 ounce spray bottles (I find them with the empty travel-size bottles and other containers at places like WalMart)
2. Unscrew the nozzle from a Smooch Spritz, then pour the liquid in the empty spray bottle.
3. Thin down the Smooch liquid with a small amount of water or alcohol.  I prefer alcohol because it dries faster.

That's it.  You'll have to experiment because the nozzle hole is quite a bit larger, and the Smooch liquid will spray much heavier than with the little Smooch Spritz bottles.  I find that pressing the nozzle all the way down sprays the Smooch on too thick, so pressing part way works best.

Here are samples of Blushing Bride Smooch Spritz mixed with a small amount of alcohol.

If you want it really light, you can thin it down even further for a subtler effect. Always do a practice spray on something other than your project first so you can be sure you're getting the kind of spray you want.

The Hot Tip Queen says:  Be sure to avoid Smooch Spritz frustration or you'll get those unattractive little lines in your brow!

Clearly for You

Next on the tour of the Retiring Lists are the sweet little Beveled Windowpanes and coordinating stamp set, Clearly for You.  Don't you just love the way the Windowpane accentuates the little flower?

Perhaps you recognize another retiring set, Inspired by Nature, that I stamped on First Edition Designer Series Paper for the background.  Click here for details on this handmade card. 

Beveled Windowpanes 121881

 

Clearly for You
W 121911, C 121976

Remember to order the Retiring Products you want from my Online Stampin' Up! Store by May 31st.  After that, they'll be long gone. 

Meanwhile, imagine the fun you can have with Beveled Windowpanes and Clearly for You!

 

Hello & Goodbye

Time to say goodbye to an old favorite, Vintage Vogue, and hello to a new stamp set.  When I saw the frame image from Papaya Collage (available June 1st in the 2012 Catalog), I thought it would pair perfectly with my very first vintage set.  And I love the yummy new In Color, Raspberry Ripple.   What do you think?

Seems like I have used the flowers from this set at least a million times.  (That might be an exaggeration.)  They are so striking, especially when cut out and layered like this.  The other part of this set that I use over and over is the flourish on the background layer.

The flourish gives just enough sense of texture to a plain layer of card stock to turn something ordinary into something special.  I usually use it tone-on-tone, or with a very light Neutral color, to keep it subtle. 

 

W 117690, C 118598

If you've put off buying this set for some reason, it's time to take action!  In two and a half weeks it will be too late!  Order Vintage Vogue and other retiring products from my Online Stampin' Up! Store today!

 

Goodbye old friend, hello new stamps! 

 

Happy Mothers Day!

Here's to all of the mothers in our lives.  May we enjoy the beauties and blessings of the day!

 

These Guys Make Me Smile

Whenever I work with the Holiday Lineup stamp set, I can't help smiling at these guys.  I'm sharing it with you today as part of our tour of some of my favorite retiring stamps.

If you love coloring images, you'll love this set!  You'll find yourself chuckling and smiling all the while.  Here's another example from the set:

Don't you love how the silly snowmen are peeking out behind the Mica Flakes in this Shaker Card?

If this set isn't in your collection, this is your last chance!  It will be gone, gone gone at the end of May.  Just imagine the fun you can have with these images:

Now imagine the smiles you'll bring to friends and loved ones when you give them projects made with this set!  Don't miss out on this fun set.  Order yours today from my Online Stampin' Up! Store.  Then when you're ready to make Christmas cards and treat holders, sit down with Holiday Lineup and let these guys make you smile!

You Asked for It!

After posting videos on making handmade envelopes and liners, some of you asked for the dimensions needed for different sized envelopes. 

As a special gift for my newsletter subscribers, I did all the math for you. I put together a chart with the measurements for nine different envelopes and liners. It will be featured in the newsletter coming out later this week.

Don't miss out on this invaluable tool for your cardmaking studio!  If you're not yet a subscriber, you have until Saturday, May 12th to sign up so you can receive the Envelopes and Liners Chart!

Just enter your name and email address in the Newsletter Signup Box at the top of this page.  As an added benefit, you'll receive the FREE series of Time-Saving Tip videos.

With the Envelopes and Liners Chart, you'll be able to adapt the video instructions to make the most popular sized envelopes.  Click these links to view the videos on How to Make Envelopes and How to Make Liners.

See how I am?  You asked for it, and I created it!