Softly Falling Embossing Folder

I was cleaning out my studio space tonight and came across these cards I received in a swap last winter.  All three of them use the Softly Falling Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.  Even though the cards are 8 months old, that folder is still current in our store, which means you can BUY IT! :)  I think it is beautiful for snow, of course, but would also be great for confetti (birthdays, New Year's, weddings), maybe fall leaves and just as an abstract pattern.  What else do you think you could use it for?

DOstamper STARS Challenge DSC #191

Phew, wee!  This was a challenge for me!  I really wanted to honor the original sketch with an oval-type shape in the upper corner, but try as I might, I couldn't get it right.  So, instead, I swapped the oval for a heart.  Also, the Peekaboo Peach & some of the patterns of paper in the Playful Pallette suite have been out of my comfort zone.  But you know, I'm glad I played until I got a little more comfortable, because I think this one turned out pretty good.  It still honors the sketch to a degree: a shape in the upper left, flowers & a horizontal element more towards the middle.  So, get out something that has you stumped and play - that's my challenge to you this week!  

Supplies: Sweet Sugarplum, Very Vanilla, Blushing Bride and Peekaboo Peach cardstock; Sweet Sugarplum ink; Playful Pallette Designer Series Paper, hearts thinlits, adhesive pearls, dimensionals & snail adhesives; Number of Years stamps, Large Numbers Framelits, Botanical Builder Framelits.

Now - go check out how my friends interpreted the same sketch:

• Michelle Harrington (that's me - you're here)
• Joan Weidling
• Judy Strickling
• Miriam Bollinger
• Angela O'Neill 
• Cathy Peck
• Connie Plaumann
• Dawn Olchefske
• Dawn Thomas
• Sharon Bennett

DOstamper STARS Thursday Challenge #190

Hello, friends!  It's been a while since I posted - I was sick, and then recovering, and then busy helping friends with a few things, and then the usual summer busy-ness...but now I'm back in action.  Today's challenge is to use any of the Hostess Sets found in the new catalog.  Have you seen them?  If not, ask me to send you a catalog...it's free and comes with no strings attached.

The only way you can acquire hostess sets it to buy them with Hostess Rewards.  You earn Hostess Rewards by either placing an order for yourself over $150 OR having a workshop in your home or throwing a catalog party where sales total $150 or more.  The more you and/or your friends spend, the more you earn!  

I chose to use the "Pun Intended" set because I just fell in love with that little bee.  Can't you see why?  The rest of the card is simple...lots of layers, just how I like it.  Scroll down to see more angles of the same card, the challenge graphic and to follow the blog hop where you can see what my colleagues put together using their Hostess Sets.  HINT: we didn't all use the same set, so you'll want to go get inspired.  And once you do, give me a shout out and I'll help you throw a party for your friends so that you can earn these items for FREE!

• Dawn Thomas
• Joan Weidling
• Judy Strickling
• Michelle Harrington- you are here!
• Miriam Bollinger  
• Sharon Bennett
• Angela O'Neill 
• Cathy Peck
• Dawn Olchefske 
• Robyn Rasset

DOstamper STARS Challenge: Product Spotlight DSC #186

This weeks challenge was to use the 2016-2018 In Colors.  Rather than trying to use them all at once, I zoned in on the Sweet Sugarplum, which is prominently featured in the new Playful Palette Designer Series paper.  I'm pleased with the results.  You'll have to keep your eyes peeled in the coming weeks to see other In Colors in my work.

Be sure to check out more "Product Spotlight" inspiration from the DOstamperSTARS Team (click on their names below):   

• Michelle Harrington- you are here 
• Angela O'Neill 
• Sharon Bennett
• Jan Carlson
• Miriam Bollinger
• Cathy Peck
• Judy Strickling
• Robyn Rasset 
• Joan Weidling 
• Dawn Olchefske 
• Connie Plaumann
• Dawn Thomas

DOstamper STARS Challenge: Home Sweet Home DSC #185

Welcome to this week's challenge!  The third week of our challenge rotation is always called "Home Sweet Home" because we are asked to use a specific piece of home decor as our inspiration point.  We can use any or all aspects of the image provided...color scheme, theme, shapes, textures, images, whatever speaks to us.  This week's home decor item is in the image below and I zoned in on some of the colors and the butterflies & botanicals. 

One style of art work I have always admired but have never felt successful at doing is the layered, vintage look.  But, challenges are all about breaking out of your comfort zone, right? So I decided to give it a shot, and I'm pretty please. The images from the Butterfly Basics set made this card so, so easy!  If you are reluctant like me, give it a try - it's so much more fun and easy than you would ever think possible.

http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/CategoryPage.aspx?categoryid=12400&dbwsdemoid=2055485

I started with a rectangular Very Vanilla cardstock panel.  I used Early Espresso ink on a sponge to age the edges.  Next, I used Crumb Cake ink and a retired French script background stamp to create the background.  After that, I used more Crumb Cake ink and another sponge to apply some more aging to the whole panel in small circular motions.  After that I just started layering on the various images from the Butterfly Basics stamp set working from lightest to darkest.  The colors of ink I used were Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive, Crushed Curry, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Early Espresso.  Next came the sentiment stamped in Early Espresso (you can use any sentiment, mine is from the bonus set I received a few months ago as a My Paper Pumpkin subscriber).  Once I was done stamping the panel, I matted it on Early Espresso cardstock, and an Old Olive card that I had aged with my sponge and Early Espresso ink.  Finally, I stamped the butterfly image on Very Vanilla using Crushed Curry, cut the image out by hand, adhered it with some Dimensionals and topped it off with some pearls, which I thought fit the vintage theme a bit better than diamond rhinestones, which I had considered.

As you may know, these Thursday challenges are sponsored by my upline, and anyone in her group of demonstrators is invited participate.  This week, we are lucky to have so many talented ladies share their interpretation of this image....go check them out by clicking on their names below:

• Connie Plaumann
• Sharon Bennett
• Jan Carlson
• Cathy Peck
• Joan Weidling
• Dawn Olchefske 
• Judy Strickling 
• Debbie Sollinger   
• Michelle Harrington- you are here
• Angela O'Neill 

STARS Challenge - Color My World DSC #184

Don't panic!  You didn't just lose 8 months of your life - it's not February or Valentine's Day.  I just couldn't help myself when I saw these colors.  I needed to refill my "love you" card stash (I like to send cards to/with my hubby when he's on business trips) so I decided to kill two birds with one stone: this challenge and increase my stash.  This card was simple to make but lots of fun.  

This was a challenge for the group of demonstrators that I belong to, and many of them chose to play along.  Check out their handiwork by clicking on their names below!

• Judy Strickling
• Miriam Bollinger  
• Debbie Sollinger   
• Michelle Harrington - that's ME!!! :)
• Angela O'Neill 
• Connie Plaumann
• Sharon Bennett
• Jan Carlson
• Cathy Peck
• Joan Weidling 
• Dawn Olchefske
• Dawn Thomas 

Technique Tuesday #1: Shaker Shadow Box Card Tutorial

Hello!  Welcome to the inaugural edition of Technique Tuesday!  Every few weeks, on a Tuesday, I intend to share with you a new technique.  (DISCLAIMER: the technique is new to me and this blog, it may have actually been invented by someone else, and in all cases, I will attempt to give credit where it is due, if possible).  So check back once in awhile to see new technique I'm playing with.

This week, I started with the Shadow Box Tutorial I found on SplitCoastStampers.com and then modified it a bit to add the shaker feature.  Scroll down past the next picture to get my step-by-step tutorial.

(1) Pick a theme. I chose birthday, which drove my color and decoration decisions.

(2) Gather supplies:
a. Cardstock (I used Melon Mambo, Dapper Denim, Emerald Envy, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, and Whisper White)

b. window sheets

c. strong strips of adhesive (I used now-retired sticky strip, but any strong strip adhesive will work)

d. filler (i.e. sequins, beads, confetti, punched pieces - I used stars punched from cardstock using a Stampin' Up!'s Confetti Stars punch)

e. a scoring tool/system (I used a score board and bone folder)

f. a paper trimmer

g. nesting* dies and die cutting machine (nesting only necessary if you wish to have a border around your opening) - you could also use punches.  The shape doesn't have to be oval, either - it could be a heart or star, or something else that fits your theme.  I used some retired SU! Oval Framelits.

h. stamps (I used Balloon Celebration, which is available bundled with the balloon punch I used)

i. ink (I used Basic Black, Dapper Denim, Melon Mambo, Emerald Envy, Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie).

j. embellishments (I used stamped and punched balloons from the Balloon Celebration bundle)

(3) To make a card similar to mine:
a. cut 2 pieces of cardstock, each 4.25”x5.5”. These will be the back and front. On my example, these are the Melon Mambo pieces. Score them at ½” and 1” on both ends. The scores should run parallel to the shorter dimension. Choose one of these to be the front, and use your die to make a hole centered in the middle section of it. If you want to stamp on front or back pieces, I would recommend doing it while it is still flat. Once you are happy, you can fold the front. Starting on one end, fold at the first score mark in one direction and at the other score mark in the opposite direction. Then do the other end so that it is symmetrical. Repeat on the back piece. Set them aside.

b. cut one piece of cardstock to 3.5”x4.25” and use a die to cut a hole centered in it. This die should be smaller than the one use on the front so that you can see it through the hole on the front piece. Do your beost to center it, but if it’s slightly off, you can trim a small amount from each edge to align it better. This will create a layer similar to the orange rim on my example. Set this aside.

c. Next, cut two pieces of window sheets to measure 3.5”x4.25”. Line the entire perimeter of one window sheet with adhesive. Sprinkle your filling on. Then, carefully aligning it, place the second window sheet on top so that the edges line up perfectly with the first window sheet. Press edges tightly to secure adhesive, sealing in the filling.

d. Now we will assemble the front panel of the card. Adhere the window sheet/filler packet to the back of the front panel (the melon mambo piece in my example). Next adhere the window rim (the orange piece in my example) to behind the window sheet packet, making sure that the border it forms through the window is even. If you need to trim a bit off the edges of the orange piece in order to get it to be centered with in the Mambo window, you may. Just leave yourself enough room for adhesive. Set this assembly aside.

e. Cut 1 piece of cardstock to be 3.5” x 4.25”. This will be the inside part that you can see through the window. On my example, it’s the white panel with the banners on it. Go ahead and decorate this. It is helpful if you hold the front window over it to see where you need to decorate. Adhere it the middle panel of the back.

f. Adhere the front and back by running strips of adhesive down the outermost flap of each end of the front and back. Carefully and an put them together.

g. Decorate the front with die cuts, punched shapes, embellishments, stickers, ribbon, etc.

h. if you want a place to sign it, you can sign the back as is, or you can decorate the back and then sign on the decoration. You could also put a little pocket back there to hold a folded check, money or gift card.

If you try this, give me a shout out in the comments - I'd love to see what you did and hear your feedback!  Happy Stampin'!!!