Saturday, October 27, 2007

Holiday Card Stamp Camp Schedule

Come to this event, held at my home, and make beautiful handmade holiday greetings. Cost is $10 for 10 cards. You can make more cards in increments of 10 and the cost is adjusted accordingly (i.e. $20 for 20, $30 for 30). Please bring your own adhesive. I will have adhesive on hand for purchase if you don’t have your own. RSVP is required by the Friday before the event.

You choose which night to attend. We will make the same cards on both nights.
Monday, November 19th at 6:00 p.m.
Thursday, November 29th at 6:00 p.m.

There will also be retired Stampin’ Up! merchandise for sale (stamp sets, scrapbook kits, etc.) as well as some handmade items.

Swap Card Samples



These are a couple of the cards that I received from other stampers from one of the swaps I was in. I like the leaf card, it uses the Rock and Roll technique. Looks very colorful. I probably would have done some background stamping on the green. I don't care for the other card as much but I think it has a lot of potential. You can't tell from the scanned photo, but Stickles were used on the stars to make them shine. I would have definitely done some background stamping on the orange and then done something to add color to the actual image. It is a wheel so practically impossible to color before stamping. However, I would probably try other colors of Stickles, or chalking the individual images, or sponging the entire background in coordinating colors or something like that. I really like cards that pop. Basic has gone out of my vocabulary when it comes to stamping. I like to make things "pop"!

Swap Card Sample


This is sample from one of the swaps I participated in this month. I like the easy aspect of using paper with a design. You can't get much simpler than that! You can bring this card up a notch by using Stickles or some other glitter glue to outline the images. Can you tell I am addicted to Stickles now that I have discovered them? It is such a easy way to really make a card more dramatic. The artist also typed up a saying on the computer and put inside the card. It reads, "Wherever you go, whatever you do, may you have Halloween magic, right there with you".

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Holiday Card Stamp Camp

It's getting close to the holidays again. I have scheduled two Holiday Card Stamp Camps, one on Monday, Nov. 19th and the second on Thursday, Nov. 29th. They are open for anyone to attend. For those of you unfamiliar with my Stamp Camps, I create 5 to 10 card designs and prep all the supplies. You attend, pay the fee, bring your own adhesive (I have some available for sale if you need it) and make ten cards (or more for the holiday events) with my instructions, using the items I have prepared. This is a great event for those of you that are new or newer to stamping or don't have the time, supplies, space, etc. to make cards at home. These events start at 6:00 p.m., although you can come later if 6:00 doesn't work for you. The cost is $10 for 10 cards. You can make more than ten cards, in increments of 10 and the cost will be adjusted accordingly (i.e. 10 for $10, 20 for $20, etc.). RSVP is required, by the Friday before the event so that I have enough time to prep all the supplies. Please use my new e-mail: mjstampscrap@charter.net Thanks!

Monogram Alphabet Card Sample


I was going through some cards that I have made and came across this one using the "S" Monogram Alphabet Stamp. I decided to post it to show a fun and simple way to use these background-sized monogram stamps. They are also great for scrapbook pages or altered projects such as tins, photo frame displays, etc.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Great New Stampin' Up! Product

Stampin' Up! has a great new product in the Fall catalog. It is Staz On All-Purpose Cleaner and comes in a small bottle with a cloth applicator on top. It works great at cleaning rubber stamps that have been used with Staz On ink. I have also used it to clean background stamps because the design makes it perfect for applying the cleaning fluid directly to the background stamp and wipe it off with a clean soft cloth. Anyone who has tried to clean a background stamp the traditional way (using the Stampin' Scrub or a similar product) knows that it is very difficult to actually get the background stamp clean. I have also used this stamp to clean other stamps that have residue on them from previous use. This product works great for that also. If you don't have a bottle of this cleaner, it is definitely a must have. You can find this product on the bottom of page 186 in the Fall Catalog. Use the link to the left to access the Stampin' Up! on-line catalogs.

First Scrapbook Layout


This is the first scrapbook page that I have loaded to this site. This layout is my favorite (and I have a lot of scrapbooks). I love the simple, balanced design and the black and white with just accent colors. I really wanted to focus on black and white because this layout is about pandas. I purchsed the patterned paper at a local craft store and the stamps are from Stampin' Up! (although it is now a retired set).

Alternate Autumn Harvest Card Sample


It was necessary for me to create a few more copies of this card but I ran out of the patterned paper and ribbon that I used on the original card (see my post from September 27th for a picture of the original). I thought I would post this image also because it shows how you can take an idea from one card and remake it into something else. You can do this with either the same theme or change the layout completely. I will post another image in a couple of days showing how I used the same layout and idea to create another different card.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Stamp Club Card Samples



These are a couple of cards that we made for our Stamp Club meeting last night. With the exception of the button on the monkey card, they are completely copied from other stamper's galleries on Split Coast Stampers. I absolutely loved the idea of a monkey on a Halloween card so just had to use that one and the other card was the last one I made so I wanted something quick and easy and didn't have the time to try to change it around. I think it's a great card but, since it triple-layered, did need to use sticky strip to keep the various layers on. They were too heavy for regular Snail adhesive. I'll have the supplies and instructions posted in my gallery on Split Coast Stampers next week sometime.