Sponging and Distressing 101

Happy weekend to you! Here's the video I promised about sponging and distressing!
Enjoy!

Please let me know if you have any questions.
SHERRI

With All My Heart

It's been over a week since I last posted. Where does the time go? I miss you guys! Todays card could be for any occasion, and most supplies come from the New Occasions Mini Catalog! Did you all receive your catalogs (both the Occasion Mini and the Sale-A-Bration catalog)? Although my stamping time was limited this week, I was still able to create a gorgeous card. "How?" you might be asking....by using DSP of course!

Three panels, layered on distressed Very Vanilla, layered on distressed Pretty in Pink, layered on a Chocolate Chip card base. To break up the horizontal DSP panels, I placed a Chocolate Chip satin bow across the top third of the card. The bottom right is offset with a flower (we're all about balance here at Sweetest Designs). To achieve this color-variation flower, stamp the flower in Pretty in Pink ink first, turn the stamp up (rubber facing you) and take a sponge or dauber in Chocolate Chip and go over the edges. Give the stamp a little huff to moisten the ink, and stamp onto Very Vanilla. Punch out with the Scallop Circle Punch, layered on 1-3/4" Pretty in Pink circle. When I finished, I added a Chocolate Chip 1/4" epoxy brad in the center. I thought it was still "missing" something. (Does that happen to you??) As you know, there isn't a larger circle punch than 1-3/4" so I used TWO tab circle punches and layered them together to form a larger circle. You can try to find the seams - but they're difficult to see. Charming!

I layered Very Vanilla inside (edges sponged with Chocolate Chip) and stamped FRIEND in the corner. I again stamped the image with Pretty in Pink, and dabbed the edges with Chocolate Chip prior to stamping the image.

I will be adding a video to better illustrate the sponging, the distressing, and the tab punch.

Now, here's the best part! You can purchase elements to make this card and earn FREE Sale-A-Bration sets! Whoooo. I've developed three options:

Option 1, $62.00 (includes tax, shipping and handling to your door step):
With All My Heart (Clear Mount)
Sending Love Specialty DSP
Cutter Kit
5/8" Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon
EARN ONE FREE SAB set (or punch or DSP pack!)

Option 2, $62.00 (includes tax, shipping and handling to your door step):
With All My Heart (Wood Mount)
Sending Love Specialty DSP
5/8" Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon
Stampin' Dimensionals
8-1/2" x 11 pack cardstock Pretty in Pink
EARN ONE FREE SAB set (or punch or DSP pack!)

Option 3, $115.00 (includes tax, shipping and handling to your door step):
With All My Heart (Wood Mount)
Circle Scallop Punch
Tab Circle Punch
1-3/4" Circle Punch
1 pack Daubers
Sending Love Specialty DSP
5/8" Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon
Stampin' Dimensionals
EARN TWO FREE SAB set (or punch or DSP pack!)

Sweet Deets (all supplies Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: With All My Heart
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink
DSP: Sending Love Specialty DSP
CS: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla
Accessories: 5/8" Satin Chocolate Chip Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Tab Circle Punch, 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, 1/4" Chocolate Chip Epoxy Brads, Cutter Kit

I will send a special Thank You to the first five to purchase Options 1, 2 or 3 from With All My Heart. You must contact me directly for Options 1, 2 and 3.

Making a Difference

I really do work for a wonderful company....

From now until February 28, 2010, Stampin Up! will set aside $2 from the sale of every I {Heart} Hearts Stamp Set (it was in the Clear Mount video!) and donate it to the American Red Cross' Haiti Relief and Development Fund.

I {Heart} Hearts - clear-mount, Item #118571, $18.95
I {Heart} Hearts - wood-mount, Item # 117010, $26.95

The Red Cross is already well-established in Haiti, and this money will be used to provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need.

The I (Heart) Heart stamp set is the perfect Heart set – it will be useful far beyond Valentines…
a. Send thanks from the Heart
b. You touch my Heart
c. Weddings
d. Anniversaries
e. I love and miss you
f. You stole my heart
g. Scrapbooking
h. Valentines
i. Baby Love
j. I LOVE (top 10 lists, what I do, etc)
k. Heartfelt Greetings
l. and so much more…

In addition, please know Stampin' Up! packaged and sent thousands of packages personal items such as soap and hand sanitizer. They urged their vendors to donate many of the products packaged and sent.

Oh Baby!

It's been a while since we've had an OH BABY! card (plus, I was asked to make a baby card for my mom). I preplanned this card and sketched out a layout. I grabbed Nursery Necessities off my shelf but when I sat down to start the card - I went a different direct. For example, I didn't even use Nursery Necessities. I had perused the gift registry to get a "feel" for the new mom-to-be and when I sat at my desk, I was drawn to all my NEW goodies from the NEW Occasions Mini. I'll have to use the sketch for some other time.
If you look closely, there's just a little bit of stamping on the front of the card. I started with Nursery Letters in versamark on Soft Suede. Isn't that lovely? Really - give it a try. I'll be using more versamark here! Then you'll notice the Sweet Pea DSP. Gorgeous. I let it do the work for me (you know that's one of my favorite tricks). I layered the vertical piece on a piece of Rich Razzleberry and the horizontal DSP was mounted on Old Olive. I used the Beautiful Wings embosslit (it CUTS and dry embosses at the same time!!) to cut out Pretty in Pink and Barely Banana butterflies. I popped them up on dimensionals. A piece of Whisper White 3/8" Taffeta brings balance back to the right side of the card.
For the inside, I sponged Pretty in Pink around the edges of the Whisper White panel. In Barely Banana, I stamped the Butterfly Accent in the upper left. I then (without reinking), stamped the butterfly two more times at an angle down the panel. These are faint enough that the message will be read easily. I used my most favorite font set, Well Scripted, in the upper right in Soft Suede.

Also, in a what's-to-come update, I'll be scrapbooking! I finally got my pictures printed. Whooo hooo! I have a wonderful weekend planned :)

Also, if you're a demonstrator and joined Stampin' Connection - find me and friend me or leave a message on my wall! (And if you're not a demonstrator - you're missing out! It's Facebook but for Demonstrators Only. We're sharing ideas and projects and templates and business tips. And it's only been availabe for 24 hours - who knows where this is going to end up. Sale-a-bration is an AMAZING time to join my team!)

Sweet Deets (all supplies Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Butterfly Accent, Nursery Letters, Well Scripted
Ink: Barely Banana, Pretty in Pink, Versamark
DSP: Sweet Pea
CS: Barely Banana, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, Versamark, Whisper White
Accessories: Big Shot, Beautiful Wings embosslit, 3/8" Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, dimensionals.

Mission Organization, Week Two

Good Monday morning! I'll keep this quick today since you have TWO projects to look at.

I really don't know what happened to the rolodex. Check it out here. It's cute.

I realized I needed a new calendar at the new house. I'm usually a magnet on the refrige kind-of-gal, but I can't stick things to the shinny stainless steel appliances. So......I settled for a NEW system.

These are 6"x6" pages, slid into page protectors, hanging from binder rings. I used the Big Shot to cut out the words in Brushed Gold cardstock. I really enjoy this heavy weight shimmery cardstock! I cut apart the words - the die connects them all. The background is the (now retired) Cocoa Speciality DSP. I used a wide wide strip of cardstock at the top and a strip of whisper white satin ribbon at the bottom. (Don't forget - you can get your fingers on this BEAUTIFUL ribbon from my ribbon share). An image from (retired) Serene Snowflake is lightly stamped in Sahara Sand on the calendar.

Best of all, AFTER the month is over, I'll be trading out the calendar portion for a scrapbook page. I'll be sure to show you the transformation. Look at me, multi-tasking! I love it when a plan comes together.

Look forward to next month's page (I'll be sure to show ya ahead of time)...

Have a creative week.


Sweet Deets (all supplies Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Serene Snowflakes
Ink: Sahara Sand
CS: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Accessories: 5/8" Whisper White Satin Ribbon, Big Shot

Friday Love

Happy Friday. Did you survive your first 5 days in 2010? I feel like it was the longest. week. ever. Phew. (There's a video and a card today - scroll to see both. If you're reading this from a RSS feed, you may need to visit the blog to see the You Tube Video.
The video is approximately 5 minutes long. It's mostly me just babbling :) in an attempt to explain the differences and similarites between traditional wood mount and our NEW CLEAR MOUNT stamps. I'll also show you the way to assemble this new type of stamp.

I don't mention it in the video, but if the cling loses it's cling and a damp cloth doesn't do the trick, wash the stamps and blocks with mild dish soap and water let them air dry. This will reactivate the cling. "Keep the cling CLEAN." Let me know if you have any questions about these new stamps :)

Here's a QUICK QUICK card. It could easily be used for an anniversary card. It's not too girlie either :)
The paper is retired - the Cocoa Specialty DSP. I miss it already.

Sweet Deets (all supplies Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Love You Much
Ink: Soft Suede
CS: Real Red, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Playground Designer Buttons, Linen Thread, Heart to Heart Punch, 1" Double Stitched Real Red Grograin Ribbon, Big Shot, Top Note Die.

NEW PRODUCT SHARES AND A PEEK!

Please remember TODAY is the LAST DAY to (1) Order from the Holiday Mini - think Snow Buddies, Night and Day DSP, Calendar Kits, Table Setting Die, Ornament Punch...the list goes on and on - you get the hint. Today is the day. Also (2) Order from the dormant list. I posted about this is December - think Central Park, Friend by Definition, Sweet Stems...Today is the day.

Out with the old, means IN WITH THE NEW. Starting tomorrow the Occasions Mini and SALE A BRATION will commence. Whooooo hooo.
What's saleabration? Hello, FREE PRODUCT! There's several ways to earn FREE PRODUCT!
Customers: Receive a free Sale-A-Bration product for every $50 purchase (before tax and shipping).

Hostesses: Receive a free Sale-A-Bration product for every $300 in workshop sales*, in addition to our regular hostess benefits.

*Note: This benefit only available on qualifying customer, demonstrator, and workshop orders. Online orders do not qualify.

Recruits: Choose any retail stamp set (valued up to $47.95) from the current catalogs when signing up during the promotion. Plus, get 15 percent off your Starter Kit (Standard or Digital+)! SAB is a great time to join my team!

Typically, saleabrations stamps were special stamps that were never before released and never ever in any future catalogs. They could only be earned - never purchased. You'll notice, there are a couple minor changes this year. One - there's a PUNCH available. A PUNCH! As a bonus, this punch will continue to be offered by Stampin' Up in the new 2010-2011 catalog! Two - another selection is a DSP paper pack. FREE. Earn it free with a $50 order but it will never be sold. Three - if there's not enough selection (with SAB stamps, a punch, and DSP pack), you can see the chart in the back of the catalog. It lists current stamp sets that you could select for your FREE choice, think Just Football, Ribbon of Hope, Bitty Birthday! You're not limited to the SAB stamps.

I've sent my customers a saleabration catalog AND an occasions mini catalog - but there was some difficulties in the mailing process. I have been assured you will be receiving your catalogs VERY VERY SOON. In the meantime, I have updated the icons on the RIGHT of the page (if you're reading this via RSS Feed, you will need to visit my site www.sweetestdesigns.blogspot.com for the icon to appear) so you can lookie ONLINE at these two catalogs. You can start ordering from these two catalogs TOMORROW, Tuesday, January 5th.

To celebrate the new product, I have several shares for you to get a taste of these wonderful products without breaking the bank!!

Sending Love Speciality DSP AND Sweet Pea DSP
2 6x6 squares of Each Sheet Sending Love DSP, as shown in the 2010 Occasions Mini (page 13) AND
2 6x6 squares of Each Sheet Sweet Pea DSP, as shown in the 2010 Occasions Mini (page 33).

Cost, $14.00, US residents only (that's a LOT of paper!)
Orders paid for by 11pm January 4th will be ordered January 5th. Orders will be placed each Monday there forth. Share will be mailed US First Class Mail.

Satin Ribbon Share
10 yards of satin ribbon, 1 yard of each 5/8" as shown in the 2010 Occasions Mini (page 27) PLUS 5/8" Whisper White from the IBC (see page 183).

Cost $7.00, US residents only
Orders paid for by 11pm January 4th will be ordered January 5th. Orders will be placed each Monday there forth. Share will be mailed US First Class Mail.

Accessories Share
(4) 1/2" Pretty in Pink Sending Love Epoxy brads, (4) 1/2" Real Red Sending Love Epoxy brads, (8) 1/4" Chocolate Chip Sending Love Epoxy brads, (6) Real Red Corduroy Buttons & Brads - 2 of ea. size and selection, AND(12)Sweet Pea Stitched Felt - assorted mix of pieces.
As shown in the 2010 Occasions Mini page 13 and page 32.

Cost $10.00, US residents only.
Orders paid for by 11pm January 4th will be ordered January 5th. Orders will be placed each Monday there forth. Share will be mailed US First Class Mail.

I've been using bits and pieces of the ribbon in recent posts. Let's look at a QUICK sample using the Sweet Pea DSP.The base of the card is So Saffron. Next is a selection from the Sweet Pea DSP paper pack. I've distressed, curled and sponged the edges. I added a vertical panel with vertical lines to the left of the card - again edges sponged in Chocolate Chip, corned flipped up to show the adorable backside of this DSP! This showcases the paper flower (circles, distressing - all in So Saffron) closed with a Button Latte and tied with Linen Thread. The sentiment panel is comprised of 6 - 3/4" DSP squares mounted on Pretty in Pink, matted on Taken with Teal. The Pretty in Pink was too pretty, so I added some sponging with Chocolate Chip again. I added HAPPY BIRTHDAY from Well Scripted (easily my most favorite sentiment set!) stamped in Chocolate Chip.

Whew, I do hope you're having a wonderful Monday and adjusting to writing 2010.
I'll be back later today with information on the new punch style and clear mount stamps. Yes, I said NEW. I wonder if anyone made it to the bottom of this post to see I said NEW punch style and NEW clear mount stamps.

;)
SHERRI

Mission Organization, Week One

ETA: Ok, this was supposed to post LAST WEEK and I just realized that it was stuck in DRAFT mode. That means YOU didn't get to see it! Total bummer. That also means that you'll get TWO posts today, because I really want to share with you Week Two and it's rather time sensitive and I'm impatient and I don't want to rewrite the posts, so be sure you look at both projects today. Sigh.

Lets get organized...

Do you have any resolutions? Is organizing or cleaning any of them? In this fun segment we'll discuss great projects to help you get organized. This first project is my address rolodex. Instead of using my altered book, I decided to upgrade to a rolodex. The book was great, but with everyone moving my book became cluttered and entries crossed out. Ick. The rolodex concept fits my needs better.

If you look closely, there are two sections to the rolodex. The first section is organized by the months of the year. By the date, I write birthdays and anniversaries. Jane's birthday is January 15th, the week or two before, I'll glance at the calendar portion of the rolodex, see Jane's birthday is coming up and grab a card.

In the back of the rolodex are the addresses - organized alphabetically, I'll address my envelope and drop it in the mail. Easy. (And adorable) Stop back and see me!

Sweet Deets (all supplies Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Medalllion, Vintage Vogue
Ink: Pale Plum, Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede
CS: Pale Plum, Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, Whisper White
Accessories: Half-pearls from Pretties Kit, Whisper White taffeta Ribbon, Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Grograin, Soft Suede Polka Dot Grograin, sponges, large oval punch, small oval punch, wide oval punch, 1" circle punch, 1-1/4" circle punch, Big Shot, Address Rolodex Clear Die

I'm still here....a tad behind schedule

Oh my goodness my friends, I do hope you and your families enjoyed the holidays. Are you getting ready for New Year's Eve?!?! I meant to post all kinds of fun projects I had completed while I was on vacation, but, from the absence of my postings, you know that didn't work out like I planned. But that's ok, you'll still get to see the goodies soon!

Today I wanted to share a little project with you to RECYCLE all those beautiful cards you received this holiday season! That's right, as you're cleaning off the mantel or the counter or the basket where all your cards have been, think about making I.O.U's or gift card holders for NEXT YEAR!

First I'll share my card.

You can't see them all, but I had 8 different color varieties. If you received a Navy Blue one and you looooove navy, it may not have been by chance ;) I spiced it up a bit for me - so I didn't burn out on making the cards. Usually I try to spread out the process over a week, but I was a bit rushed this year so I decided different color cards would keep me interested. Plus, it was easy to glance down and tell myself, keep going, only three more green ones! This is a fun style card, a pocket card. I made one here a looooong time ago. I decided on the pocket card because it was easy for the receipient to REUSE. The insert is approximately 3"x5". That's the size of an index card. Even non-stampers could pull out the insert, reinsert an index card and give the card to someone else. You could also drop in a gift card or tickets to show!

Edited to Add: Thanks for your interest, I'll share the measurements and quick directions to make your own Pocket Card.

Now, let's get to it. Here are a few of the cards I received.
Lookie at this one from West Virginia! LOVE the ornament look! What patience!

Glitter, glitter, glitter from northern Ohio.

Is that a spotlighting technique I spy from Virginia??

Let's look at reusing the cards!
This one from Michigan used MY DIGITAL STUDIO. The hand-drawn box is something I'll be recreating soon!

On the inside right was the message. Now....tad-dah...it's home for a gift card. See that little punch, it's $5.95 and you need it. It makes the semi circle shape for the gift cards to tuck into!

Here's a vintage-inspired card from Maryland

On the inside was this beautiful plaid paper, I matched the colors and created an I.O.U.. I don't know about you, but I'm always giving I.O.U's.

Ok, just one more. Hang in there!
Dasher from the DC metro area!

Inside easily transforms into another gift card holder.
I hope I didn't bore you - but really, it's what I'm doing with the cards I received. Now, I know some of you are thinking "Sherri, I'll forget about them by next year." "Sherri, I'll misplace them before next Christmas." Here's a little tip, place the remodeled gift card holers or IOU's inside your ornament box. Just sit them right on top. So next Thanksgiving when you're getting out your decorations you'll find them! It will be a happy day and will jump start your holiday projects, because you'll already have several completed!

Please have a SAFE New Year's Eve and enjoy the Rose Bowl.

Go Bucks.
SHERRI