Stamp Things

Brayer Sunset Revisited

I was looking for some new inspiration and came across a card that inspired me, so much that I had to case it.  Okay, so I didn't recreate it exactly but it is too similar to call the idea my own! Of coarse, I can't find the original now to give the designer credit.  If you know her, please leave a comment with her info, so I can add a link.

To recreate this affect first review my very simple  baby wipe technique to create a the background.  It is VERY simple, click here for a tutorial. 

The tools and supplies that you will need include

Stampin' Up! Part Number	Product Description
102599	Glossy White 8-1/2" x 11" (25 pc)
111656	Inspired by Nature Stamp Set
105225	So Saffron Ink Refill
102931	Only Orange Ink Refill
103287	Real Red Ink Refill
102395	Brayer Handle with Rubber Attachment
-	2-3 Baby Wipes
101179	Basic Black Stampin' pad
102851	Basic Black Paper
*	Bird die cut or punch, Some Suggestions are listed below

Some Suggestions for the Bird

• Holiday Windows Magnetic Stampin' Up! Movers & Shapers Die (PN 116821)
• 2 Step Bird Punch (PN 117191)

• Birds & Branches Sizzlits Decorative Strip Die (PN 114529)

Come back on Friday to see the card and scrapbook page that were made with these eye catching creations!

Until then, Happy Creating!

Christmas Bears - Classroom activity

These past few months have been very hard on me.  I've done very little of the things that I love.   Including sharing some of my projects with you.  As I'm determined to get the things I love back.  I'm going to begin by sharing this little project.

When my oldest childs teacher mentioned that she would like to do a holiday craft with the class, I was delighted and knew just what I wanted to do.  Something with those cute "Build a Bear" dies!  I love the idea of Mrs. Claus being a part of the project!  This is the project that I brought to class.  The kids instantly turned them into Ornaments for their Christmas Trees. 

To make these little gems you will need a Big Shot machine, along with the following dies from Stampin' Up!

    117977    Stampin' Up! Bear

    117978    Stampin' Up! Beary Essentials

    117980    Stampin' Up! Beary Merry

The card stock used to create these precious little bears included:

    102514    Creamy Caramel,

    102482    Real Red,

    102851    Basic Black &

    101650    Very Vanilla.

Kits were create for each bear.  

Mr. Clauses' (Santa Bear) kit included

1. Bear
2. A Very Vanilla Cap
3. A Real Red Cap (trimmed along the perforation marks)
4. A Very Vanilla Coat
5. A Real Red Coat  (trimmed along the perforation marks)
6. A Pair of Real Red Pants
7. 2 - Basic Black Shoes
8. A small Rectangle of Basic Black (~1/4 " x ~3/4" )

Mrs. Clauses' Bear kit included

1. Bear
2. A Very Vanilla Cap
3. A Real Red Cap (trimmed along the perforation marks)
4. A Very Vanilla Coat
5. A Real Red Coat  (trimmed along the perforation marks)
6. A Real Red Skirt
7. 2 - Basic Black Shoes
8. A small Rectangle of Basic Black (~1/4 " x ~3/4" )

As these kits were for Kindergarteners, the die cuts (excluding the bears) were turned into a sticker using the Xyron 500 Create a sticker Machine using the 18' re-positionable adhesive refill.  This allowed the children some flexibility in creating their bears.  Here is the bear that my 5 year made.  It's not perfect, but it means a lot to me.  

I had an amazing time with the kids that day.  I am smiling as I think about it now.  I can't wait to create more bears with them this coming school year!

 As always, Happy Creating!

Paper Piercing - Borders

Paper Piercing can be used to 

• Show Motion,
• Provide a border,
• Accent, Inhance or Trace a Stamped image or Embossing,
• Create Faux Stitching and much more.

The basic tools you will need for Paper Piercing include

• Paper Piercing Tool (PN 116631)
• Mat  Pack (PN 105826)

Other Tools and Accessories that Can be helpful to use when Paper Piercing include.

• Circle Scissors Plus (PN 112530) - for drawing circles.
• Cutting Mat (PN 101087) - for larger working area
• Classy Brass Templates particulaly the Pick A Petal (109542), Punches Plus (109539), Priceless (109541)and Seeing Spots (107412) for creating piercing patterns that accent patterns.
• Vellum Cardstock - Making your own Paper Piercing Template. 

The example below shows how-to (tutorial) create a square border.

For the example below, The paper piercing template in the Stampin' Up! mat Pack was used. 

First a boarder was drawn on the card stock to outline where the area to be pierced.  The image was not glued to the card stock at this time.

The piercing template from the mat pack was then used to pierce along the lines.

The card stock was then flipped over and the image adhered to the front.

It was that easy.  Other post this week will focus on paper piercing techniques.  Come back on Thursday for the next post.

As Always, Happy Creatin'

Hostess Benifits - Schedule your Setptember - November Workshop Now!

Schedule your own workshop for September - November 30th now.  The hostess benitfits are unbelieviable and you will earn free products for those Christmas Cards that you know you and your friends will be making.  Don't worry if your friends ONLY sent picture cards, I'll demo a quick and inexpensive for them.  I'll also work with you to make this the most successful event it can be.

The Stampin' Up! Promotions details are listed below.

Dates: September 1-November 30, 2009

Host a workshop totaling $250 or more and choose any one item* from the 2009 Holiday Mini Catalog for only $10! 
*Offer excludes hostess sets and My Digital Studio.

After My Digital Studio is released, this offer will become even sweeter:

Host a workshop of at least $400 and get My Digital Studio for 50 percent off the retail price (retail price: $79.95; promotional price: $39.97)!

I can be contacted by email at marie@stampthings.com to arrange a party. If you have an order of $250 or more, contact me so that we can also get you these awesome benifits.

As Always, Happy Creatin'

Creative Keepsakes - Readers Choice Awards

  

Creating Keepsakes, a leading scrapbooking magazine in the country, has recognized Stampin' Up!'s superior products and service for ten consecutive years, since 1999, through its Readers' Choice awards.

 Received Creating Keepsakes Readers' Choice  Awards for

Winner: Rubber Stamps, Spring-Summer 2008 Idea Book & Catalog, Write Me a MemoryFont CDs
Finalist: Watercolor Pencils, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Stampin' Write Markers, Punches

Best of all, You can purchase these award winning products through ME!

Click Here or the Order On-line to order our award winning products!  Don't forget to click the Button!

Twitter - Some more Basic terms, abbreviations & commands

This is some more basic Twitter lingo & abbreviations.

Tweet - a message of no more than 140 characters sometimes referred to as a micro blog post or instant message

Twitter Message Commands

@username = Reply to (ex @StampThings - sends a reply to me)

D @username = Direct message - you will need to be a follower of the person you are Direct Messaging & them a follower of you.

DM @username = Direct Message

PRT = Partial Retweet or Please Retweet

RT = Retweet

Common Instant Message Abreviations & Twitterisms

? = I have a question
1 = one, won
2 = to, too, two
4ward = forward
4 = for, four
abt = about
ab = about
b/c because
b4 = before
BFN = bye for enow
bgd = background
BTW sort { |a, b| }By The Way
CelebrityTweet = A tweet by a Celebrity.
chk = check
cld = could
clk = click
da = the
deets = details
Eml = email
Em = email
fab = fabulous
fave = favorite
fav = favorite
FB  = Facebook
Followers = Twitter members that follow your updates
FTF = Face to Face
FTL  = For the Loss or For the Lose
FTW = For the Win
fwd = forward
FYI = for your information
GMTA = Great minds think a like 
GJ = Good job
GR8 = great
Hashtag = Adding categorical metadata to your tweets by using the # tag such as #sewing
HTH = Hope that helps
IC = I see
IMHO = In My Humble Opinion
IM = Instant Message
IOW = In Other Words
IRL In Real Life
itz = it is
J4F = Just for fun
JK j/k = just kidding
JSYK = just so you know
JV = Joint Venture
kewl = cool
K = okay
L8er = later
L8 = late
LMAO = Laughing My Ass Off
LMAO = Laughing my ass off
lmk = let me know
LMK Let Me Know
LOL = laught out loud
LOLV = Lots of Love
mil = million
mistweet = A tweet that was sent in error or that one later regrets.
njoy = enjoy
NP = Not a Problem
NW = No Worries
Nudge + user name = A Twitter command used to remind a Friend to update their Twitter status or be active on Twitter.
OH = overheard
OMG = oh my god or oh my gosh
peeps = people
plz = please
pple = people
PPL = People
props = proper respect
PWN = Own
ROFL = rolling on the floor laughing
RU? = are you?
R = are
shld = should
thx tx = thanks
TIA = thanks in advance
TMI = too much information 
ttyl = talk to you later
ttys = talk to you soon
Twead = To read a tweet.
Tweeting = The act of posting on Twitter.
Tweetin = When a group of Twitter users agree to get together at a set time to twitter.
Tweets = Posts on Twitter by Twitter members.
Tweet = Twitter updates
Twerminology = Twitter terminology
Twibe - A group on twitter
Twitterati = The elite members or A-list members of Twitter that everyone wants to follow and be followed by.
Twollower = Twitter + Follower
TYT = Take your time.
TYVM = Thank you very much.
TY = Thanks
u’ve = for you have
ur = your
U = you.
V2V = voice to voice (chatting on the phone)
W or w/ = with
wld = would
wOOt! = an expression of joy or excitement.
wor = Work of art
woz = was
wtf = what the f***
wth = what the heck
YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary
yr = your
YVW = you’re very welcome
YW = you’re welcome
YVW = you’re very welcome

Now that you have a twitter lingo down, Go Tweet something!

Don't forget to Follow Stampthings.

LOLv - Lots of Love

LNS Tour #1 - Come on & Get on the Bus!! Tour Starts April 27th & ONLY last 24 hours!!!!

Welcome to Stop #17 - Sense of Time (PN 113804) Stamp Set.  Warning: The tour is over, but the post & samples will remain.  You aren't crazy there was a tour sponsered by Late Night Stampers on April 27th & it was awesome!

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The Sense of Time Stamp Set is a lovely set that will withstand the test of time.  When I first laid my eyes on it, I thought I have got to do something with those gears for my husband.  He's a car nut (excuse me enthusiast)!

As I began to use the set, it reminded me of my Grandmother who has certainly withstood the test of time.  Now that she is approaching her 90s she has learned that "An unhurried sense of time is in itself a form of wealth".  I created this scrapbook page for her.

 

 

I love the way the clock and gears coupled with the distressing of the page gives the sense of time to this page.  It is one that I will cherish always.

Don't go YET!  I have something for the card markers out there as well!

 

The pocket watch has several layers of Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder to give it the shiny look to it.  I bet that pocket watch would look awesome on a fathers day card with a little chain on it.  What masculine touch that would give to a scrapbook page, too!

Before you travel on to the next page.  There are 2 more things you should know!

1. BLOG Candy! - Leave a comment or sign-up for my newsletter in the top left hand corner and you will be entered to win BLOG candy.  The blog Candy for this stop includes 12 hand made cards featuring sets from the 2009 Occasions Mini Catalog including the card shown on this post.  The winner will be selected randomly using a number generator in excel.  Constant contact and Typepad provide me with the time that your comments & sign-up are made so a number will be assigned to you based on the order your comment was entered.  If you sign-up for my newsletter & leave a comment, you will be entered twice.  If you are already on my newsletter, please let me know that when you leave a comment and I will enter you twice.  Please leave your email address when you comment as I will be emailing you for your mailing address.  You email will not be shared with anyone.
2. The Getting Connected Promotion is almost over.  It ends on April 30th.  Customers may choose a free "Under $10" item for every $40 they spend on products in the Occasions Mini (e.g., If a customer orders $80 in Occasions Mini products, she qualifies to choose two "Under $10" items for free). If you place an order of $150 or more you not only qualify for Hostess Benefits, you can also choose an additional free "Under $10".  The "Under $10" items are located on pg 208 of the Spring-Summer 2009 Idea Book & Catalog and are listed below."Under $10" items include the following:

Item	Description	Retail Price
116209	Note of Thanks Mini Note Kit	$9.95
116210	Birthdays Count Mini Note Kit	$9.95
114494	Forever single stamp	$5.95
114492	Beautiful Baby single stamp	$7.95
114486	Birthday Wish single stamp	$6.95
114490	Glad Friends single stamp	$5.95
114498	Flowers in Silhouette single stamp	$7.95
114496	Celebrations single stamp	$7.95
114484	Elegant Thank You single stamp	$6.95
114552*	Gracias single stamp	$5.95
114488	Fun Flowers single stamp	$5.95

*In Celebrando Creatividad, p. 28

Don't forget to order on-line by clicking here and then click the  button on the top left of the screen. 

Twitter Tweets, Facebook Fans & You Tube for Crafters

I am totally excited to share with you all the excitement for stamping, crafting and scrapbooking that I've been working hard to create ALL week.  This is all for you and YOU will LOVE it!  You just need to TRY it.

Let's start from the beginning.

When StampThings was created, my intent was to share a hobby with people, specifically caregivers of medically fragile loved ones who needed something for themselves.  As a caregiver to a previously fragile baby girl who is still very medically complicated (but doesn't need to live in a bubble), I know how difficult it is to get out of the house to simply buy groceries (never mind crafting supplies to support my mental health)!  Thankfully Stampin' Up! products are available on-line,  Click here to get to my Stampin' Up! website and then select the    button on the top left corner of the screen. 

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to reach the caregivers that I had intended to.  However, www.StampThings.com has reached thousands of stampers, scrapbookers and paper crafters.  Now I want to offer all of you even more!

Under the tutelage of awesome coach, my goal has grown beyond simply blogging to share my ideas & make products easily available, but to create a community.  Stampthings is now on Facebook, Twitter and (coming soon!) to YouTube.  What does this mean to you.  EVERYTHING!  Let's spend a little time on each.

Facebook- This is a FREE social media site.  You can create and keep your profile private or you can make it public so that your old friends (with whom you have inadvertently lost touch with as life takes it twists and turns ups and downs, flips and FLOPS!) can now find you or you can find them.  When people find you, they must request to become a "Friend".  This helps to keep your information private or amoung your friends. 

Once you join facebook or perhaps you are already a member, you can become a fan or Stampthings.  Stampthings is a community of like minded paper crafters like yourself who enjoy stamping, scrapbooking, card making, etc.  Becoming a fan also provide updates, blog posts and a little more personal interaction among the members.   Currently we have over 44 members on Facebook! 

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Twitter - Did you see Oprah on Friday?  She featured Twitter! Now that Oprah is tweeting (It is a post on Twitter), you can bet good money that Twitter is going to be the next BEST thing on the Internet.  Again?  What the heck is Twitter??

Twitter is another way to stay connected with your fellow crafters (stampers, scrapbookers, quilters, you name it!) and get concise updates.  Correct that, it is more than updates, its where peopole share what they are thinking using very short tweets (less than 140 characters).  It's hard to explain until you use it.   

Now Twitter is also mobile friendly, by that I mean if you have a cell phone or any other device that accepts text messages, you can receive tweets (text messages) via you cell phone, PDA, whatever you want to call your device that you carry in your pocket to stay connected with the world 24 hours a day.  WAIT!!! Don't go!  This is where I tell you that, I DON'T have one of those really cool things.  I still use twitter.  I just check my tweets by going to my twitter home page, when I want.

Again, What the HECK has this got to do with ME?  Stampthings has created a StampThings twitter page and even better a TWIBE!  OMG, what the heck is a TWIBE. UGH?  I'm so confused.  Please stay with me. 

Let's keep it simple.  You will first want to become a follower on the StampThings twitter page.  This will get you started.  To become a follow, click the follow button under the StampThings logo. 

A Twibe - It is like a tribe, a group of people if you will, no a community of people who like similar things and want to share.  The stampthings TWIBE, is  a crafting twibe.  ALL crafters are welcome in this tribe, I mean TWIBE.  It is a great way to get to know other crafters.  The Twibe is still very new as upgrades are made available, the twibe protion of Twitter will be more useful to you. 

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You tube - I'm just going to give you a little tease about You Tube.  I'm working on video tutorials.  Eventually Stampthings will have a Stampthings Channel on You tube.  The videos will be embedded into posts here on Stampthings.  You will be able to go to the Stampthings You Tube channel to view other videos as well.  I'll provide these links as they area available.

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In summary, you can be a part of the Stampthings community in several ways!

FaceBook: Make sure to click the "Become a Fan" button on the top right corner

Twitter Follower: Make sure to click the "Follow" button under the StampThings logo.

Twitter Twibe: Become a member of the TRIBE of crafters.

You have nothing to loose and everything to gain by becoming a member!  I look forward to seeing you on Twitter & Facebook!  If you have any questions, you can email me or leave a comment. 

A Simple Question for YOU!

This question is for you and you only.  It will only take a moment.

You can either click on this link to answer the question of the week.

Question of the Week

Or

You can answer the question that is posted on the right hand side of the screen, below the Order On-Line icon.  Simply selecting your answer and then clinking the Vote button.

The results will be posted next week!  You never know, your vote could take www.Stampthings.com in an entirely new direction!

Help Me Help You - Please answer this Question

This month I am taking the Business Stampers Coaching blog a day challenge.  My goal is to post every day!  If you are a frequent visitor you know that my favorite posts are tutorials.  Be sure to visit daily to see what I come up with!  This isn't an April Fools Joke!!!

In the mean time, each week I will be posting a survey poll to try to gain information to help improve my posts.  By "improve" I mean offering posts that are more relevant to my readers.  Please take a second and click on your answer and then click "VOTE".  The poll question is locate in the top right of the screen below the "SHOP ON" blinkie!

Thank you for your vote!