Grosgrain Ribbon Dyeing

Have you ever found yourself searching for a color of grosrain ribbon to match your project, but just can't find the exact color? Well, today, I was searching for grosgrain that matches one of my favorite colors, Perfect Plum. The colors seemed to be either too purple, too blue, or just not right! So, of course I can just take regular old white grosgrain and use my re-inker to make it right. Off to Splitcoaststampers.com to find out how to do this. There is a wonderful tutorial written by Amy Rysavy. Here's a link to the tutorial.

Now, after much trial and error to get the right tone, I ended up using 15 sprays of water, 15 drops of Perfect Plum re-inker and one drop of Chocolate Chip re-inker to do about 2 yards of ribbon. The chocolate chip really took the "purple" and made it more plum. This ribbon matches almost perfectly with the Enchante Designer Series Paper! (the paper in it that's the dark plum on one side and the bolder flowers on the other side).

Eat Cake

My twins birthday is next month, so I've been working on their party invites. Their favorite colors are Purple (Lauren) and Orange (Sean). So, trying to make that work, I got out my Color Coach and tried to find orange and purple that didn't look horrible together. This is what I came up with. I used Apricot Appeal for the base. I used my markers to ink the cake with Certainly Celery and Lavender Lace, then stamped on Shimmery White cardstock. I used the Ticket punch to notch the corners, then layered on Certainly Celery. I used my new Crop-o-dile tool to punch out and set Lavender Lace eyelets, then mounted on LL cardstock. It's hard to tell from the picture, but I did stamp the background design using Apricot Appeal ink on the AA cardstock.

Change can be good!

Happy Sunday everyone! Just a quick post to let you know that Stampin' Up! has announce some changes to their catalog program. The new program includes releasing a new Idea Book & Catalog twice a year instead of once a year. Beginning July, 2007, Stampin" Up! will got to a semi-annual catalog. That catalog will run through December 2007, and a new catalog will be released January 2008! The mini catalog program is also changing. There will only be 2 mini catalogs, a Holiday mini from September 2007-November 2007, and than an Occasions Mini catalog from March 2008-May 2008. There will still be a Sell-a-bration, however it will not be next January! That date is TBA.

Each catalog will be 208 pages. There will be new Hostess sets in each catalog! And, 2 retiring lists as well. This proves to be an exciting time. It allows Stampin' Up! to release new and up to date products more quickly! More information will be coming out I'm sure, but this is the latest info I have.

Polka Dots & Paisley

This is a new set that has not be out yet. It will be in the Spring 2007 Mini Catalog. It was a gift from Stampin' Up! to all their demonstrators in December! How cool is that? So, I've been playing around with it and decided I love it! There are other stamps in the set too! I also tried a new color combination, thanks to seeing this card on Splitcoast Stampers. Sage Shadow and Chocolate Chip. I would never had put those two together, but I think it looks nice! I also used my new favorite punch, the Ticket Corner. Enjoy!

Enchante Lunchbox tin

Have I told you how much I love the new Enchante Designer Series Paper from Stampin' Up!? Here's a lunchbox tin I did with this paper. I selected this design because I thought it would make a great gift, filled with handstamped cards.

Happy Harmony

Hello all! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. I've finally climbed out of the maze a presents all over the house. I think I'm an expert at undoing all those plastic twist ties that hold the kids toys in the packages! Why they need so many I'll never know!

Anyway, I've had some time to start playing with my new stamp sets! Sell-a-bration is coming soon, so here's a card I made using the Happy Harmony set that will be available during Sell-a-bration. The base is More Mustard that I stamped with Linen stamp set with More Mustard ink. The Old Olive is stamped with Floral background stamp with Old Olive ink. It's hard to see from the scan, but I did use Old Olive and More Mustard Watercolor Wonder crayons to color the flower on the stamp. Then I spritzed with water and stamped. It was layered on Elegant Eggplant cardstock. Then I stamped the saying with Elegant Eggplant ink. I add brads in More Mustard as well. So, let me know what you think. Post a comment and tell me if you'd like this card to be in the Stamp Camp in February!

Gift Card Holder

If you love giving gift cards for Christmas, here's a great way to make a holder for them. You can use any colors and pattern paper you'd like. That's the fun part. You can create a customized holder for any occation. Finish it off by putting it in a clear envelope and you're all set.

Here's what I did to create this one.

1. First, cut a piece of Sage Shadow cardstock 5 1/2 inches by 3 7/8 inches. Score Cardstock on the long side at 2 3/4 inch and fold in half. Use a punch (I used the small tag punch from the Winter mini) to punch a notch in the top of the cardstock. Place a strip of Sticky strip only one the cut sides (not the top) to make a pocket.
2. Cut a piece of Enchante designer series paper 6 inches by 2 inches and layer on top of a piece of Pale Plum cardstock cut 6 inches by 2 1/4 inches. Wrap around gift card holder. I used a bit of sticky strip on the seam in the back to make it really stick!
3. Stamp a greeting (I used For You from the Taggers Dozen set in the Winter Mini) on Very Vanilla cardstock with Sage Shadow ink. Punch out with Small Tag punch. Use the regular Tag punch to punch out Pale Plum cardstock. Punch a slot using the Holizontal slot punch on top of tag. Tie Ribbon around gift card holder and attach tag. Voila, you're done!

Enchante Paper!!

I am LOVING the new Enchante paper from Stampin' Up! I have used it to create note cards for gifts this Christmas. What a great teacher gift! The first sample I used Pale Plum cardstock, layered on the Enchante Paper, used Narrow Ivory Organdy Ribbon to tie around the Enchante Paper. Then, I stamped the letter (from Headline Alphabet) in Pale Plum on Very Vanilla Cardstock. Layered that on Pale Plum and used Stampin' Dimensionals to make the letters "pop" off the paper.

The second sample I used Sage Shadow ink and cardstock. Everything else was the same. What a quick and easy way to make some personalized note cards. From one 12 x 12 sheet of cardstock, you can get 6 note cards! And, since the paper is double sided, you can turn up one corner to show the other side! How cool is that? These cards can be made with any kind of designer paper to create many different kinds of cards.