May 5, 2009 |
Byte size stamping in video tid bits….
(you’ll need to come to the blog to see the video if reading from a feed)
Today’s Vid Bit is how to set our new grommets and a trick for how to get it through fabric or one of our Pretties Kit flowers:
These grommets are in our Stampin’ UP Occasions Mini Catalog and come in 2 sizes. Small and Jumbo. The small have 60 in the container and the large have 20. 6.95 each. The colors are black, silver, vanilla and white. I love them and hope they make it into our new catalog on July 1st!
By the way, Stampin’ Up has placed a new video on my Demonstrator Website and you can view it HERE!
Apr 21, 2009 |
I received these lovely swaps a few weeks ago from a talented group of stampers I swap ideas with and thought I’d share a few…
Stamped by Denice Marshall. All Supplies Copyright Stampin' Up!
This one is made using the Stampin’ Up level 1 hostess set, God’s Beauty. Denice used Pale Plum as the card base, then added a layer of Perfect Plum card stock. She Sizzix’d up the card with Frame Oval Scallop and our exclusive Little Leaves sizzlit. So pretty!
Stamped by Rhea Hughes. All Supplies Copyright Stampin' Up!
Rhea always does such elegant cards. The main card is Kraft (which I need to use more of – love it) Basic Black card stock on top, a little bit of white punched with our new Eyelet Border punch. Urban Oasis DSP on the bottom stamped in Kiwi with the Fifth Ave Floral set. The Kraft Taffeta ribbon ties it all together!
Stamped by Mary Ammar. All Supplies Copyright Stampin' Up!
It’s hard to see here, but the main card is Vanilla and then layered with a Sahara Sand embossed card stock layer. Then the eyelet border punched in Chocolate Chip, a strip of Olive Patterns DSP. The stamp set is Thoughts and Prayers, set of 8 on page 58 of the big catalog. It is the perfect set for sympathy and get well sentiments.
Stamped by Mary Hall. All Supplies Copyright Stampin' Up!
Mary stamped the flower on shimmer white card stock. The flower is from “Wonderful Watercolors” and I didn’t even know it was in the big catalog! She started with a Basic Black card, added a white layer, then another black layer card stock. The blue paper is lighter than it appears here and is from the Parisian Breeze Specialty DSP. I love how she tied 2 white organza ribbons around the card for an extra special touch!
More later –
Linda
Apr 12, 2009 |
While I was at Founder’s Circle last September, I had my 10th anniversary with Stampin’ Up! It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long but as I look back at all the changes in my life, Stampin’ Up was always by my side. Along with the memories, I have tote bags… lots of them. From every convention, leadership and other incentive events I had a closet full and they were a big mess:
I found this at Bed, Bath & Beyond. It is an over-the-door purse holder. (The link to buy them is here) There were 2 of them in a pack for 9.95. Just what I needed to hang all those tote bags that I want to keep and actually use once in a while! I’m now hanging them behind a door in my stamp room:
I can fit 2 rows on the back of my door which is holding 16 totes! I guess it would depend on your size of door, too.
Happy Organizing! Linda
lindastamps@cfl.rr.com
Mar 15, 2009 |
Josey from CA asked me for ideas to store Sizzlets. I had them in a little basket and since they are all the same color, they are really tough to tell apart unless you take a close look at ’em!
I had some baseball card sleeves. Years ago, demonstrators swapped Trading Cards at conventions. Some rubber stamping conventions still do, but demonstrators have stepped away from those little works of art in the last few years. So I cut out my sizzlet dies with some SU card stock and glued them on the front of the pocket:
all images copyright Stampin' Up!
Of course, Sizzix has storage boxes you can buy:
Laurie in Lake Elmo, MN shared this idea: For the Cuttlebug folders I took my daughters empty makeup case. The top holds the plates and a couple folders, the bottom holds the rest of the collection.
I’m getting ready to leave for Hawaii in one week! Can’t believe it is almost here. My friend Shantaie suprised me by sending me this cute lil’ package in the mail today! Perfect shades of Hawaii pinks for my toes and pink flamingos. Thanks so much Shantaie! (Those flamingos are from Stampin’ Up about 5 years ago – I sure do miss ’em!) p.s. She has a really cute blog so stop by and say hello. It’s called Inking Pink
Linda
Feb 15, 2009 |
What makes you go ‘grrrrrr’? I’m not talking about things like drivers who don’t use their blinkers or when they forget to put ketchup in your bag to go with your fries. That’s a WHOLE different blog. For stampers like us, getting organized and fixing those little annoyances really helps us enjoy our creative time when we have it!
Someone asked me recently if I store my watercolor crayons in their tins. My grrrrrr with my crayons was that I was constantly going in and out of the 4 tins to get different colors. And THEN reorganizing them to keep the Regals together, the Earth together….seriously, it was driving me mad. So I gave in and threw them all together! I realized that I rarely take the complete set to workshops but grab the colors I need and put them in one tin anyway if I need them to travel.
If you store them another way, write in and let me know!
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This is a votive holder that was given to me a few years ago by my friends Susie and Dede. (I think it came from Hallmark) It’s perfect to keep all of my crayons ready for use.
I have a second set that I keep in my SU mug from Leadership 2004. I think it originally had hot chocolate in it. It’s nice and easy to transport but not as easy to take them in and out as the votive holder.
Ok, what is YOUR grrrrr…? Maybe we can come up with a solution or if I dont’ have an idea, I’ll post it to the stampin’ readers for some help and we can make it GRRRREAT!
Linda
Jan 4, 2009 |
I am getting ready for our Stampin’ Up Leadership conference here in Orlando. I’m thrilled not to get on a plane like I usually do BUT I put off making my swaps and getting ready since I thought I had more time after the holidays!
I was sitting on the sofa last night, watching a movie and cutting out uber-zillion flowers for my card swap. Matt offered to help cut paper or punch something. I asked “what would be the easiest for you to do?”
He said ” I can cut flowers”. I looked at him with that “you’ve got to be kidding me-you don’t know what you’re doing-it’s harder than it looks-my flowers are going to look like they’ve been trampled” look.
I said ” But they have to look like I punched them out, with nice round edges, no jaggedy lines and leaving a little bit around the stamped lines!”
Matt said ” what, you don’t think I can do it? I’ve seen you do it It doesn’t look that hard”.
And he did it. And he cut them well, I mean really good. Like, a lot of my new stampers and some seasoned stampers still have trouble getting those results.
Since I had a request from Carol in Ohio for a video on how to cut out stamped images nicely, here is Matt explaining his technique!
Video:
I’ll be posting everyday from Leadership as we get our NEW catalog so pop in and see pics of our make and takes, demonstrations and displays!
The Manager’s reception is going to be awesome! They have arranged with Universal Studios to have a part of Marvel (in Islands of Adventure) just for us! Spiderman, Hulk rollercoaster (my fav), dinner, and a DJ for dancing in the streets for everyone! We’ll also get to have a free Caricature portrait done that night!
Matt will be attending as my guest and since he works at Universal, that is especially fun for him!
Look at the cool lanyard I got in the mail for the event:
Linda
Dec 18, 2008 |
We had a great time at our monthy Demonstrator Get Together last Sunday. We had a holiday party and everyone brought food to share and participated in a shoebox swap. Although the food is gone, I’ll share the swaps with you!
Stamped by Susie Brown using a stamp set called “Love You Much” which you can get after December 23rd in a fun bundle deal with a matching heart punch!
Another “Love You Much” stamped by Patti Sharkey. There is glitter on the heart and Love. The paper is designed to go with the set and will be a part of the bundle offered Dec 23 – Jan 31.
Another sample using “Love You Much”. The paper clip can be used as a bookmark, too!
A quick and easy Simply Scrappin Card from Trish Niedergesis. Love those scrappin’ Kits!
Stamped by Paula Rotmil. LOVE this new set and the paper is de-lish! Look for it in our upcoming catalog in January!
Stamped by Susan Scarpelli. The bottom folds up and is held in place by the scallop attached to the top flap. Clever, Susan!
Stamped by Cyndra Alderman. Kraft card stock and chipboard stars – cute!
Stamped by April Maingot, inspired by ?
Cindy Whitaker punched this cute Santa and his big nose! His hat brim is glittered.
Peppermint Bark treat bag made by Nancy Parris. I had been snacking on the bark before I took the picture, so it looks less full than when I got it!
Marsha Perry’s chipboard sentiment hanger. (she printed it on the computer)
I love the black brad in our filigree brad!
This is a box stamped by Linda Goldhersz. The chunky red glitter really adds something special!
Pretty, Pretty card stamped by Laurie Hobbs using “Inspired By Nature”. Basic Gray, Baja and Not Quite Navy are so elegant together!
Stamped by Karen Wagner and creatively modified by a sample in our catalog!
Cute little bag with felt snowflakes by Joanne Phillips
side view of bag
This gift was from Susie Brown and DID (note the past tense) have a bag of chocolate-ly peanut clusters. Oh my, they were really good. I had a hard time getting them away from Matt so I could have a few!
She used the Top Note Sizzix Die on the front and back of a paper bag to make the tote.
Linda Goldhersz brought her cheesecakes on this tray she bought at Ikea. She used our Decor Elements in the middle – way to go, Linda!
We are going to miss Crab & Co. now that he is on the retiring stamp list. (sniff) Patti Sharkey created this santa crab – He is so fun when you see it in person as his claws are glittered red and his body is green!
Stamped by Barbara Benoit
Stamped by Cyndra Alderman
Stamped by Iina Lee
Stamped by Estell Brickhouse. Hard to see here, but she stamped the heart twice, once in white ink on red cardstock and cut out. Then again in red on white and cut out.
Stamped by Debbie Critser. She used sponge daubers and ink pads to color the stamp before it hit the paper.
Stamped by Carol Adams using one of our sneak peek sets coming out in the new catalog!
Billie Rice brought this little ornament chipboard frame, sponged with Kiwi
Stamped by Hyla Preston. Love those little star punches all clustered together!
Dec 6, 2008 |
Hi Stampers! This week I am testing out homemade stamp cleaners!
I researched recipes online from seasoned stampers on Splitcoaststampers.com and other stamping forums. I am testing out 4 homemade recipes and putting them up again Stampin’ Mist and StazOn cleaner. Remember this is Stampbusters, not Consumer Product Testers so I am not going out to buy every stamp cleaner out there to see which one works the best (altho I would LOVE that) so I am just testing the myth “Do Homemade Stamp Cleaners Work?”
For my ‘study’, I dug through my stamp sets that I have used for years with StazOn and permanent inks. Lovely As A Tree was the worst one in the pile, so I started cleaning with that one.
I started using a clean Stampin’ Scrub pad but then ended up using a white shop towel so I could see how much ink really came off.
I’ll post the results under the video in written form for those of you dial-uppers!
**Addendum 12/7: I’ve been getting some comments that stampers love Ultra Clean stamp cleaner. Also, someone asked for a cost comparison per volume vs our store bought cleaner. One of you out there must be a math whiz so we’d love it if you figured out which is more economical – Homemade or Store bought?
Like I mentioned in the video, the rose water and glycerin in the recipes below are supposed to condition your stamps like a regular stamp cleaner. I cannot vouch for that since I haven’t used all of these recipes for years (or days even!) on my stamps, so if someone out there has used homemade stamp cleaner for years, tell us how your stamps are doing! Linda
p.s. I bought the Rose Water at my local health store, Chamberlains.
Video:
(Recipes in order of appearance on video)
Recipe #1:
(Reported to be close to Stampin’ Up! Stampin’ Mist)
2 Cups of Distilled water
1 Tablespoon Baby Magic Baby wash
2 Tablespoons Rose Water
Recipe #2:
2 Cups Distilled water
1 Tsp. Dawn dish soap
5 drops of Glycerin
Recipe #3:
8 ounces Distilled water
1 teaspoon Baby Wash
2 Tablespoons Glycerin
Recipe #4:
2 Cups Distilled water
2 teaspoons Simple Green
1 Teaspoon Glycerin
Here are my findings in order of Best to Worst:
First Place goes to Recipe #1 (Just about as good as Stampin’ MIst and StazOn cleaner). Got off my old StazOn stains that were years old!
2nd Place: Recipe #4 with the Simple Green. Worked very well – I’d use it again.
3rd Place: Recipe #3 with the baby wash. Pretty good, not great. Maybe for light cleaning.
Last Place: Recipe #2 with Dawn dish soap, which didn’t work at all for me. Save it for the dishes.
These recipes make so much of the cleaner that I put them in canning jars for gifts to my favorite stampers! It really is important to use Distilled Water and not tap water. It will keep much longer without micro-critters and getting stinky!
Well, that was fun! Any ideas for next week? Linda
Dec 1, 2008 |
I’ve had a raging cold all week long, thanks in part to my wonderful husband who had a cold last week altho it wasn’t his intention to give it to me so I can’t be too mad. I have carried around a box of Kleenex under one arm from room to room for the last 3 days. The highlight of my week was receiving my swaps back from my monthly swap group of talented stampers and I thought I’d share:
Stamped by Mary Hall. I loved the colors – Black and Not Quite Navy, and the way she used the Top Note Sizzix Die and cut it in half.
This is stamped by Sharon Skelton. The picture doesn’t favor it well, so sorry about that. The card is Sage Shadow with Chocolate, image embossed in Silver.
Stamped by Sharon Burkert. Love that Stampin’ Up large stitched chocolate ribbon!
Stamped by Rhea Hughes. The colors are unique using Baha and Kraft cardstock. And LOOK at the Kraft taffeta ribbon…I didn’t even realize we sold that! Gotta get some…
Stamped by Mary Ammar. Love seeing that bling paired up with our Filigree brads!
Stamped by Linda Picchioni. Urban Garden Designer paper – Love it!
Stamped by Kimberly Allen. Handsome Hunter, Riding Hood Red and gold shimmer cardstock that is embossed in gold – so elegant!
Stamped by Jan Cramer. What a sweet, Tango’d Card!
Stamped by?? Ok girls – someone email me and tell me who did this one. It is hard to photograph b/c it is a vellum card, embossed in Iridescent Ice – very pretty!
Stamped by Susan Gudmunson. She gave us a little extra detail by snipping the taffeta ribbon to look like a scarf!
Stamped by Carol Gilmore. She glittered over the whole ornament circle and tied it all up with that awesome, wide grosgrain!
I’ll continue with my Stampbuster video series in a few days when I’m not held hostage in the Nyquil, Dayquil, Nyquil cycle.
Stay healthy,
Linda
