Strength & Hope Stamp Camp Extravaganza Part 6

For the final installment of the Strength & Hope Stamp Camp Extravaganza, I'm showing my the traditional "breast cancer" card that I made - because it's pink and it's got the pink ribbon on it.

I used this card design for two of my four Strength & Hope stamp camps.  My last stamp camp was held at a customer's home.  She invited a few guests to join us.  As it turned out, one of them was a breast cancer survivor.  I was honored to have her stamp with us.

In all, I sold fourteen stamp sets and had 20 ladies participate in this incredible fundraiser.  As you may know, Stampin' Up! is donating $2 from every set sold to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.  In addition, I am donating my personal sales commission to the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer program. I'm told that this money will stay in the Western Pennsylvania region to directly assist breast cancer patients with eduction, going to doctor's appointments, home visits, etc.  The money I made isn't a huge amount.  Collectively, I'm sure that Stampin' Up! demonstrators around the world have made a difference in the battle against breast cancer.

Tomorrow is the last day to order your Strength & Hope stamp set. It's also the last day for the Buy 3 get 1 Free designer paper sale.  You don't want to miss out on either one of these promotions!


Happy Stamping!

Susan

Stamps: Strength & Hope
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Whisper White
Ink: Regal Rose, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Big Shot, Square Lattice tief, Decorative Label punch, Pretty in Pink Satin ribbon

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Forgotten Photos

Since I only have time for a quick post today, I thought I'd share the card that we did at my Open House.  (I thought I already posted it, but can't find it.  Sorry if it is a repeat.)  I let guests decide what color ink to use and what ribbon to add.  The Paisley Petals designer series paper has been a challenge for me to use.  This card design seems to work well with it.

 

I'm off to the Grove City Outlets with Bradley.  Nothing like waiting till the last minute to do school shopping!  Most of our shopping is finished, but I need to take Bradley alone.  Randy is taking the afternoon off to be with the girls.  I have a lot of tolerance for my children, but I cannot take all four kids school shopping at once.

Stamps: Four Frames, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Paisley Petals designer series paper, Not Quite Navy, Night of Navy, Marina Mist, Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Whisper White
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Big Shot, Framed Tulips tief, Decorative Label punch, various ribbon

Happy Stamping!

Susan

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Lean on Me - Create with Connie and Mary Challenge163

Since I need to start using all of the stamps I buy, I started looking for challenges to do, something to spark my creativity.  One challenge I ran across came from a blog Create with Connie and Mary.  This one was  color challenge using Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, and Pacific Point.  Wow!  I do not naturally gravitate to those colors together.   How was I going to pull this one off!?!

First, I gathered some supplies: Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, Pacific Point, and Whisper White card stock along with the coordinating Patterns Designer Series Paper Stacks.  Then I checked out my growing pile of virgin (those not yet inked up for the first time) stamp sets and pondered about which set to use for this challenge.  Here's what I came up with:

The technique I showcased for this one is paper piecing. I first stamped the image with StazOn jet black ink onto Whisper White card stock.  Then I stamped the image again on Pacific Point designer series paper, Tangerine Tango card stock, Pacific Point card stock, So Saffron card stock and Whisper White card stock.  After everything was stamped, I carefully cut out the appropriate pieces for the parts I needed.  Since I've got a cold, I had to be careful not to sneeze on those tiny pieces or I'd lose them.

After all of the pieces were cut, I used Tombow  multipurpose glue to put them in place.  Next, I used the Blush Blossom marker to color the hands, legs, neck, and face.  Then I colored the girl's hair with a Chocolate Chip marker.  The rest of the card just came together using some more dsp.  I sponged the edges of the So Saffron dsp with So Saffron ink.

The weather here is starting to feel like fall.  School starts in one week for my kids.  Hopefully, I can find some more stamping time soon!

Stamps: Lean On Me
Paper: Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, Pacific Point, Whisper White, Patterns Designer Series Paper Stacks (brights and subtles)
Ink: StazOn Jet Black ink, So Saffron ink plus Blush Blossom and Chocolate Chip markers
Accessories: Stampin' dimensionals

Happy Stamping!

Susan

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Combined Color Lab/Stamping 411 Challenges

One of the perks of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is that I get to order from their catalogs a full month before they go live.  As soon as I saw the Gently Falling stamp set, I knew I had to add it to my stamp collection.  Then after I saw the Color Lab Challenge I knew the Gently Falling set would be perfect with the colors Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, Soft Suede and a touch of More Mustard!  I checked out the  Saturday Sketch Challenge from Stamping 411 to put my creation together.  Here it is:

Hmm, wonder if the Color Lab challenge design team had the Spice Cake designer paper in mind when they chose those colors. 

I stamped so many of these gentle leaves that I decided to make another more simplified card:

Stamps: Gently Falling (upcoming Holiday Mini!)
Paper: Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, Soft Suede More Mustard, Spice Cake dsp
Ink: Pear Pizzazz, More Mustard, Pear Pizzazz
Accessories: Stampin' dimensionals

My youngest daughter Clarice has had a fever for the last two days.  She's getting better now, but had a LONG three hour nap this afternoon.  I'll probably be up late with her tonight.  And now my six year-old says she doesn't feel well.  I'm sure they'll be feeling better soon!

Happy Stamping!

Susan

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Strength & Hope Stamp Camp Extravaganza Part 5

Here is a card using fellow demonstrator, Christine Slogar's, layout once again.  I really love the ribbon on this one:

The main colors are Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla and Crumb Cake. I had a difficult time decided what color to make the butterfly. I tried Pretty in Pink; that one was too subdued.  I tried Regal Rose; that one was just "off."  I tried Rose Red; that one was too dark.  Finally, I settled with a Melon Mambo butterfly. She's just right : )

Stamps: Strength & Hope
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo
Accessories: Round Tab punch, 1 3/8" Circle punch, 1 1/4" Pretty in Pink Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stamping!

Susan

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Strength & Hope Stamp Camp Extravaganza Part 4

River Rock is such a neat color!  So glad that it made it into the neutrals color family with the Color Renovation.  Depending on what color you pair it with, it can look a little green, a little yellow, a little gray.  Here's the card featuring River Rock:

I found this color combination using the Color Coach.  The Bravo Burgundy card lists River Rock and Baja Breeze as the Creative Combination.  I couldn't have put these colors together on my own.  They're lovely together, huh?

Christine Slogar, a fellow demonstrator, posted a card with a similar layout on Stampin' Connection. She's the one who figured out how to layer those two punches for the "Hope" stamp.  Thanks, Christine!

Up next is a card with a similar layout, but different colors.
 
Stamps: Strength & Hope
Paper: Baja Breeze, River Rock, Very Vanilla
Ink: River Rock, Bravo Burgundy
Accessories: Round Tab punch, 1 3/8" Circle punch, sponges, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stamping!

Susan

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Another Mojo Monday!

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for another Mojo Monday challenge.  A few days ago my preorder for the Holiday Mini catalog arrived.  Two of the stamp sets I got were Creative Elements and Netting.  I planned my colors ahead of time and had all my card stock cut and ready to get that rubber wet!  Here it is:

This card showcases one of my favorite color combinations - Crumb Cake and Marina Mist.  The card base is Crumb cake, followed by a Naturals Ivory layer that's been stamped on twice using Crumb Cake ink - once with the Netting background stamp and with the flourish from the Creative Elements stamp set.  Then there is a layer of Marina Mist punches and Soft Suede card stock.  Next is a Naturals Ivory layer with more Crumb Cake flourishes.  And finally, the Marina Mist butterfly - stamped once directly on the Naturals Ivory, then stamped again and cut out for some extra layering.  The sentiment is stamped in Soft Suede.  The finale is Crumb Cake taffeta ribbon tied using the Fork Bow method.

Here's another version. The layering of colors is a bit different and I added some First Edition designer series paper:

 Which one do you like better?

I did some experimenting.  Here's how NOT to ink up your background stamp:

This photo was taken after I inked the Netting background stamp by pressing the ink directly onto the stamp.  I had to move it around several times to get ink on the entire stamp.  See how there are lines on the card stock where the edge of the ink pad hit the stamp?

One can avoid getting those harsh ink lines by brayering the ink onto the background stamp:

Since I used Naturals Ivory card stock, there are a few irregularities in the final product.  But you can see how much more even the ink coverage is.  I placed the card stock down onto the stamp, then covered it with a piece of copy paper and carefully rubbed my hand over the card stock to get the Netting image to transfer to it.


Stamps: Creative Elements, Netting
Paper: Naturals Ivory, Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, Soft Suede
Ink: Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, Soft Suede
Accessories: Scallop Edge Border punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Crumb Cake taffeta ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

Stayed tuned next for another edition of the Strength & Hope Stamp Camp Extravaganza!

Happy Stamping!

Susan

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Strength & Hope Stamp Camp Extravaganza Part 3

There's a funny story behind this card.  I saw it on Kelly Acheson's blog just a few short hours before I was scheduled to go to Cate's house for a Strength & Hope stamp camp.  Cate was gracious enough to open her home for my stamp camp.  Anyhow, I wrote to Kelly and told her how excited I was to see this card design and felt compelled to use it.  

I just love Basic Gray and Rose Red together.  (After looking at Kelly's blog, it seems that she used Cherry Cobbler.  But I didn't have Cherry Cobbler seam binding.  That's how I chose the Rose Red.)  This card also features the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch.

Okay, I wrote in my last post that I was going to feature River Rock.  But I still can't get over how great Crumb Cake looks with Marina Mist.  This color combination is one of my favorites.  The following cards use those two colors in the same layout.

I used this card as the make 'n take for a few July workshops.  I think everyone liked it.  This card also stayed in the line-up for my fourth and final stamp camp : )

Stamps: Strength & Hope
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Gray, Rose Red/Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Marina Mist, Soft Suede
Ink: Basic Gray. Rose Red/Crumb Cake, Marina Mist
Accessories: Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch, Crumb Cake/Rose Red seam binding

Happy stamping!

Susan

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Strength & Hope Stamp Camp Extravaganza Part 2

I conducted my second stamp camp at my house.  Instead of doing six cards, we only made five cards.  Some were a little more detailed and took more time to create.  Here is one of them.  It was a favorite of most of the ladies:

I just love that Crumb Cake color!  It was very difficult to resist choosing that color for all of my Strength & Hope creations.

Stay tuned for the next installment using Strength & Hope with another great neutral color, River Rock!

Stamps: Strength & Hope
Paper: Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Rich Razzleberry
Ink: Crumb Cake, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Big Shot, Framed Tulips tief, Crumb Cake seam binding, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punch

Happy Stamping!

Susan

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Strength & Hope Stamp Camp Extravaganza Part 1

Since the end of May I've had four Strength & Hope stamp camps.  For the first installment at the Oil City YWCA I created these three cards.  Inspiration for all of these cards came from Stampin' Connection, an online community for Stampin' Up! demonstrators.  A big thanks goes out to all the demonstrators who make my job easier!

This card was inspired by a very similar card created by Jen Andrews.

I copied this card from Donna Schafer.  I called it my "Man Card" of the group.  A more feminine variation would be to stamp a Crumb Cake butterfly instead of the flourish.

  Inspiration for this card came from Lynda Frasier.  I changed the colors a bit.I inked the butterfly with Pretty in Pink, then added Melon Mambo and Rich Razzleberry with markers. I then spritzed the stamp with a little water.  It's hard to see in this photo, but there are Dazzling Diamonds on the butterfly.  I also had a variation using Pretty in Pink designer paper instead of the Old Olive.

(Having a little "operator error" with this blog post. The photo above says it's centered and so does the caption. But they certainly don't look centered to me.  Not going to worry about it!)


Because I wasn't sure how many participants would attend this stamp camp, I had everyone make two of each card.  As it turned out I had lots of people sign up for this stamp camp - and they bought the stamp sets, too.  But over half of them could not attend.  That is why/how I repeated the stamp camp.  Of course, I had to challenge myself and come up with more designs using this fabulous stamp set.  So stay tuned for more samples using the Strength & Hope stamp set!

Happy Stamping!

Susan

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