Would you like to see a "hidden door"? How about a Hidden Door card?

I love playing with different types of cards.  One card that I found a while back was called the "hidden door" card and I knew I had to try making one.  Well, I did and it was actually easy, but I didn't like the way the card looked when you opened it.  So, of course, I had to fix that.

This is the original card I made after seeing a hidden door card.

Number 1 is the front of the card with a girdle around it.  The card opens in the centre, like a gate, and because it is folded inside, it actually works best with a girdle around it.  Number 2 is the inside of the card as you just open the front cover.  I've also stamped on the inside of the front cover to give it more interest.  Number 3 shows what happens when you open the card along the centre line of the inside.  You see through the "hidden door".  I thought this was so terrific, but wanted something less checkerboardy for the inside of my card.

This is the card that I created next:

I wanted to make this card more striking and so I used colour for it.  Yes, the two blooms are different colours.  I used the Raspberry Ripple ink for one and the Primrose Petals ink for the second.  The leaves are stamped in Gumball Green for both.  I used the full flowers from my Fabulous Florets stamp set (love that set and am so glad it is not being retired) and cut them out before adhering them with dimensionals.

The girdle is simply made using a piece of Basic Black cardstock.  A hand-coloured butterfly from the Papillon Potpourri stamp set and cut out with the matching Elegant Butterfly punch was glued to the join in the cardstock and then I used my Itty Bitty Banners stamp set and matching framelit for the sentiment.  I was so happy with the front of the card, it didn't even have to become a "hidden door" card to be special.

But, of course, it did become a "hidden door" card.  When you take the girdle off and open the front of the card, this is what you see:

I discovered that I could fully cover the checkerboard as long as I left a cut down the centre so that the secret door could still be opened.  So for this I used the Early Edition Designer Paper as my background (I'm going to miss that paper since it's retiring with the current catalogue).  In the centre of that I stamped the chair from the Cherish Friendship stamp set (retiring, so get yours before it's gone at the end of May) on Very Vanilla cardstock.  I cut that out using my Labels Collection framelit.  Then I stamped the goose from the Cherish Friendship set on Whisper White and cut it out using my wonderful snips.  I loved the way it all looked after hand-colouring it, especially since the goose overlapped just slightly, taking attention away from the cut down the centre of the page.  I finished that page off using the Word punch to cut out the sentiment I put together using the Fabulous Phrases stamp set. 

Now, for the hidden portion that you reach by opening the page I just made.  You sort of bend it in the middle and pull the hidden door apart and, voila, you reach the hidden page:

As you can see:

I left this page in checkerboard because it allowed me to use a number of sentiments together.  It was such fun, especially finishing it off using the floral butterfly stamp from the Papillon Potpourri set.

You know, I think this is going to have to be one of the WOW cards in my next class.

Another "Bombs Away" Birthday Card

This is such a fun set to use!  I knew as soon as I saw the set, Bombs Away Birthday, that it would be great for use with the chalkboard technique.  This time, however, I combined the set with the original Photopolymer stamp set, Designer Typeset.  Talk about a card that's black and white and "red" all over.  (Had to say it!)

I'm sorry to say that the Spritzer tool which I used to get the spots all over the card is being retired this year. I love using mine.  At a reduction of 25%, this is the time to get this amazing tool.

A New Photopolymer Stamp -- Birthday with a zinger!

Well, Stampin' Up! is now offering two Photopolymer stamp sets:  Designer Typeset and the brand new Bombs Away Birthday (item #133411).  I really enjoyed making a card using the new one.

One of the things that I particularly like about this stamp set is that it uses some beautifully varied type.  I can see my next card using the set being a chalkboard style.  The sentiments are perfect for that technique.  The sentiment I decided to use just begged me to use the Music Notes wheel.  They go together perfectly.

In looking through my Designer Paper, I found a piece in the Patio Party which just "spoke" to me.  It's simple, primarily Baja Breeze with tiny Whisper White hearts all over it.  So I used the Baja Breeze as my base cardstock and combined it with the Designer Paper and also some Midnight Muse and Whisper White cardstock.  For my stamping and a bit of sponging around the sentiment, I used the Midnight Muse ink.

What appeals to me about this new set of Photopolymer stamps is that all the sentiments are light-hearted and offer the sort of zingers you would feel comfortable making to really good friends.  This card, for example, is perfect for one of our friends who would be totally mortified if the staff in a restaurant ever came to the table and sang "Happy Birthday" to him.  I'm sure you have friends like that, too.

The beauty of this set of 7 stamps is that it costs only $16.95.  That made it a must have for me.

Specials Ending April 30th

Yes, there are some time-limited specials which you may not want to miss.

One of those is the special-release package called "Sent With Love".  The Designer Paper is perfect for all those travel spreads you may wish to scrapbook and also for those special cards you're itching to create.  You can get all the products in this bundle separately, but why would you wish to when you can get the entire bundle for 20% off.

Another specially priced bundle that you will be excited about is the "This and That" line.  All the products in this bundle can be bought separately now and in the brand new catalogue which debuts June 1st.  What you won't be able to do after April 30th, however, is to buy all the products in a bundle, saving 15%.  No, this offer does not appear in the new catalogue, where you will have to buy each product in the line separately.

Remember, you can either contact me and include these bundles in my current open Workshop Order or you can click on the link I've provided (the name of the product is your "hot" link) and order them online.  If you type in the Hostess Code, 9EDMJAPY,  you will be eligible for one of my free give-aways.

My Thanks to YOU!

Hi everyone!  The retirement lists are out and you can click on the hot spots in my last posting to see what is leaving Stampin' Up! that you might be interested in buying before it's gone forever.

I also have an Open Workshop order right now and, if you're wanting to be included, you can contact me to place an order (it can be retirement items or current items or a mixture of both).  If you wish to be included but prefer placing your order online, you can choose to use the Hostess Code to be included in my Open Workshop, 9EDMJAPY, and for your order, you can even include Clearance Rack items.

Anyone included in the Open Workshop will, of course, receive a custom-designed card, but for this order only, if your order is $25 or higher (before shipping and tax), I will include a package of the Silver Glimmer paper

or a package of the Rhinestone Basic Jewels, your choice, as a "thank-you" for your continued support of me as your Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Stampin' Up! Retirement List---Get your favourites before they are gone forever!

You have until June 3rd, 2013 BUT if you're familiar with Stampin' Up! you know that a lot of the items on the list will not last until that date.  If you see something you've had your eye on, don't delay.  Once it's gone, you've lost your chance.

We're making room for all the fresh and fun new products in the NEW 2013/2014 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue which is coming out May 31st.  To do that we have to say goodbye to some of our old favourites.  Yes, it's hard to say goodbye, isn't it?  But you don't have to.  You can still grab those special items you love before they're gone forever.

*DOWNLOAD  Stampin' Up! Retired Accessories

*SHOP  Retired Accessories
       
              25% Off

              40%Off

              60% Off

*DOWNLOAD  Retired Stamp List

*SHOP  Retired Wood Mount Stamps

              Retired Clear Mount Stamps

If you're going to order online, remember you can add on any Clearance Rack merchandise as well.  Make a list of all your favourites and get them before they're gone, gone, gone!

Happy Earth Day everyone!

Stampin' Up! has some great stamps.  I didn't have any problems finding some appropriate ones for my Earth Day card.  Hope you enjoy it!

Remember, we'll be finding out which stamp sets made it into the new catalogue soon.  The retirement list will be out in a few days.  If there is a stamp on that list which you've had your eye on, it will be your last chance to buy it.

Sometimes a kit is the answer!

Have you seen that cute "dress dummy" framelit?  It's part of the Dress Up framelits that compliment the All Dressed Up stamp set.  I've used it for several cards and also at my last make-n-take for a charity Scrapbooking All-Day Crop.  It's a fun element to use on a card but sometimes, cute as a framelit is, you might not see a lot of continued use for it and be hesitant to buy it.

Stampin' Up! has come up with a great kit that lets you use the "dress dummy" element for a total of six cards at an affordable $17.95.  For that price you get everything you require to make six cards.  Everything! How great is that?

What is "everything", you ask?
        - Happy Birthday Photopolymer Stamp (1)
        - 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" Crumb Cake Cardstock (6 pieces)
        - 2" x 4 1/4" Very Vanilla Cardstock (6 pieces)
        - Very Vanilla Medium envelopes (6)
        - Tea Lace Paper Doilies (6)
        - Dress-Up die cut (6)
        - Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Spot (1)
        - Vanilla 5/8" Flower Trim (6 pieces)
        - Sponge Dauber (1)

As long as you have an acrylic block onto which to mount your stamp and some Snail Adhesive, you're good to go.  You can jump right in and begin making your cards.

What do the cards look like?  They're actually a great design and will blow the recipient away.  And the Happy Birthday stamp will come in handy for your future birthday cards as well.

Isn't that a terrific looking card?  You could buy the kit for yourself to make those next six birthday cards on your list or you could buy the kit for your crafty friend or relative and surprise them with a project that they will love making.  And it's only $17.95 (Item #133913)..

Remember you can order this through my online store or you can contact me directly.  I'd love to plan a workshop for you and your friends and introduce you to this kit and all the other wonderful new items Stampin' Up! is offering.

Spring is Timid this Year!

If the weather people are right, it will be snowing overnight.  This is simply wrong!  It is, after all, April 16th.  The white stuff should be melted and long gone by now, even here in Alberta.  Considering that the first flakes began falling back on October 23rd, I think Winter and its white accoutrements have had a long enough run.  It's time for a change--a warm change!

As a result of this unseasonably cold weather, I couldn't help but create a card that made me feel more in tune with Spring.  That beautifully rendered stamp set, Nature's Walk (121997 Clear; 121925 Wood) simply cried out to be used.

For this card I decided to use my Watercolour Paper and Watercolour Pencils.  I love the way images look when I use those in conjunction with my Aqua Painter.  The butterfly, bee and flower looked as good as I had hoped they would.  I even used the blue watercolour pencil to create a light wash behind the images.

The colours in the images helped me choose the base cardstock and all the remaining Designer Papers and cardstock colours.  The perfect choices were More Mustard for the base, Midnight Muse as the next layer, the lattice design from the Print Poetry Designer Series Paper Stack, and, for my mat behind the Watercolour Paper, the Midnight Muse with script, again, from the Print Poetry Stack.  I love it when the choices are so easily made.

I knew I wanted to add the bird, as my Spring Robin, but decided to stamp it on the Glossy White paper to make it stand out against the Watercolour Paper.  To colour my robin, I used a selection of the Stampin' Write Makers.  I'm happy with the way it turned out.  The fussy cutting: a real chore, but when you have an idea in mind, you have to go with it.  Thank goodness for the Paper Snips.  They are so sharp and have that wonderful, tiny, pointed end which makes cutting a robin's feet not only possible but actually easier as well.

I wanted to have a sentiment on the card, but I really didn't want to take away from the images.  What a perfect time to use the brand new stamp set: A Round Array (129090 Clear).  I used it with the matching 7/8"" Scallop Punch and also used the 1" Circle Punch to create a background and the 1/2" Circle Punch to cut out the centre of a second image I stamped, to give the sentiment a layered look.

And the card was ready for assembly.  Just making it made me feel as if Spring might actually be ready to show itself.  How could there not be robins out there?

I love the way this card turned out.  The only thing that would make it even better would be looking out my window and seeing the scene as reality.  (Are you listening, Spring?)

A Colour Refresh---News Regarding the Stampin' Up! Color Families!

There is a real shake-up in the Stampin' Up! colors!  Ten of our colors are being discontinued.  The Color Families are undergoing a real change, with the Regals and Subtles experiencing a real "shuffle" as colors leave or join a new family collection.  Check out the chart below for the details!

Announcing Stampin' Up!'s upcoming Color Refresh! We love color and we know that you do too. Color is fundamental to who we are and what we offer. We are thrilled to share our updated line of colors, and hope you will be as excited as we are by the new possibilities!

• Brand NEW - Smoky Slate
• FOUR returning current In Colors include: 
  • Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Island Indigo, Wisteria Wonder
• FIVE returning past In Colors include: 
  • Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry (Both from 2009-10 In-Colors)
  • Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride (Both from 2010-12 In-Colors) 
  • Soft Sky (From the 2008-09 In-Colors) 

Check out these colors displayed in their new collections!

Colors Retiring/Discontinuing:

• Regal Rose
• Pretty in Pink
• Bashful Blue (re-inkers out of stock)
• Certainly Celery (re-inkers out of stock)
• Baja Breeze
• Riding Hood Red
• Bravo Burgundy
• Not Quite Navy (cardstock already out of stock)
• More Mustard
• River Rock
• Lucky Limeade (2011/2013 In-Color)

Playing with colour!

Things are so grey outside right now!  Maybe I'm just more conscious of colours (and the lack thereof) because even with very variable weather on our vacation, the colours in the Caribbean are so saturated that a bit of rain or cloud doesn't have the impact it has here.  Since I've come home, I feel as if my colour perception has gone wonky.  Shouldn't there be more colours in my world?

Well, if I don't see the colours I want when I look out through my windows, there is nothing for me to do but add some colours inside my room.  What better way than to create a card?

I've liked some of the cards I've seen where people have stamped flowers on Crumb Cake and then coloured them in with a layer of white craft re-inker.  Why not try it on something a bit more saturated, I asked myself.  I liked the idea of using Chocolate Chip as my background to really make the colours "pop"--and so I did!

Step 1:  Cut a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock with the Top Note die.

Step 2:  Using Versamark, stamp selected flowers on die cut.  (I used some of the flowers from My Secret
             Garden and some from Fabulous Florets.)

Step 3:  Sprinkle stamped flowers with white embossing powder and heat emboss.

Easy, right?  Even at this stage, the flowers just "pop" against the deep, warm brown of the Chocolate Chip. My next step was to colour in each of the flowers with some of the Whisper White Craft Re-Inker.  I used my Aqua Painter for that.  Because of the intensity of the Chocolate Chip, I wound up using a second coat in order to have the pale base on which to add the desired colours for my flowers.

Once this layer is dry, it's easy to paint on the colours of the flowers using a Stampin' Marker or a Blender Pen and ink from a Stamp Pad.  I also like to use those terrific Watercolor Wonder Crayons.  Anyway you choose to get the right colour into those flowers is fine.  You'll just be blown away by the terrific contrast you have against the background Chocolate Chip.

Even with just one layer of colour and no shading, you can see how nice this is going to look.  I like to let the layers dry in between and then just deepen the colour towards the centres.  After I get everything the way I would like it to look, I add in some leaves using the Gumball Green embossing powder.  It just "pops" against the Chocolate Brown and adds dimension to the piece.

Finally I mounted the piece onto a base of Rich Razzleberry and a layer of Crumb Cake embossed with the Woodgrain embossing folder.  Add the sentiment and it's all ready to go.

This is such a fun way to have bright flowers on a dark background.  It takes a bit of time but it's definitely worth it in the end.