Afternoon Delight!

We had a great card class on Wednesday.  Fourteen novice card makers attended our Beginner's Valentine class!  We made the three cards from our post, Be My Valentine on Monday.    Isn't this room perfect for crafting? 

We used Stampin' Up! glue sticks and Dimensionals for our adhesives with great success.  Everyone agreed that the Red Glitter Paper is fantastic!

A little concentration, smiles, and laughter made the afternoon fly by!

This lively group of neighbors were eager to learn about card making!  We had so many great questions!

Applying light even pressure after careful placement of the background layer.



All the participants loved the cards they made!  They stamped the backs of their cards with the Handmade By stamp from the Occaisions Mini catalog.  They also stamped their envelopes with coordinating stamps from the XOXO Stamp set.  We will be returning in April to make Easter/Spring cards!

Be My Valentine!

I'm doing a Valentine's card class this week.  All the participants are first time card crafters, so the cards need to be fast, fun, and fabulous!  The class materials are limited to the XOXO stamp set, Real Red Ink, Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Real Red, Basic Gray card stock, Love Impressions DSP and Red Glimmer Paper.   These are the cards I chose for the class.

Card 1

I just love the Red Glimmer Paper!  Don't you?  I stamped some Whisper White card stock with the XOXO background stamp and punched out the other two hearts!  They are mounted with dimensionals  on Basic Gray Scalloped Heart of Hearts embosslits.

Card 2

This card is cased from Lori Mueller's blog.  Lori cleared up the mystery of  where I saw this card!  Thanks Lori for sending the link to your card!  You can view Lori's card here!  I love the Pinking Heart border punch!  The Basic Gray layer of the Curly Label was cut with the Movers and Shapers Curly Label.

Card 3

This card is the only one in the set that didn't use the Red Glimmer Paper.  At the suggestion of the hostess, the Real Red and Pink Pirouette Small Heart punches were replaced by Red Glimmer Paper punches.  Unfortunately, I sent the card samples ahead, so they could be displayed without taking a picture of the card with the Red Glimmer Paper hearts!  All three cards are easy to assemble.  Vote for your favorite card in the comments!

January Stamp Club with a Valentine Theme

Valentine's Day was the theme for our January Stamp Club.  Our cards this month feature the all new XOXO stamp set, Valentine's Defined,  and Love Impression Specialty Designer Series Paper found in the new Occasions Mini Catalog.  We also used the Love Patterns DSP and Filled With Love stamp set, along with our free Bitty Buttons from the Valentine's Day Promotion. A touch of Red Glimmer Paper completd our cards.

Paper:  Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Love Patterns DSP

Stamps:  Valentine Defined, Filled With Love

Ink:  Pretty in Pink

Misc:  Big Shot Movers and Shapers, Pinking Heart Border punch, Heart Small punch, Full Heart punch,  Basic Pearls, misc white ribbon

Earlier this fall we discovered that the Movers and Shapers pieces can be used to add a layer to several of the stamps and punches, perfect for an extra border! 

Paper:  Whisper White CS, Basic Grey CS, Real Red CS, Love Impressions DSP

Stamps:  Filled With Love, Valentine Defined

Ink:  Real Red

Misc:  Big Shot Movers and Shapers, Pinking Heart Border punch, Full Heart punch, Real Red Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones

Paper:  Basic Grey CS, Real Red CS, Pink Pirouette CS, Whisper White CS,

Love Impressions DSP, Red Glimmer

Stamps:  Filled With Love

Ink:  Real Red, Basic Grey, Versa Mark

Misc:  Love Impressions Rub-Ons, 1 3/8" Oval punch, 1 3/4" Oval punch, Heart to Heart punch, Heart Small punch, Heat and Stick Powder, Pink Glitter, Real Red Seam Binding, Basic Rhinestones

Paper:  Whisper White CS, Basic Black CS, Real Red CS, Love

Impressions DSP,Red Glimmer

Stamps:  Valentine Defined, Filled With Love

Ink:  Real Red, Garden Green

Misc:  Pinking Heart Border punch, Heart Small punch, Real Red Glitter Brad, black

 ribbon, misc. flower punch

Paper:  Very Vanilla CS, Cherry Cobbler CS, Basic Black CS, Love Letter DSP, Red Glimmer

Stamps:  XOXO, Filled With Love

Ink:  Cherry Cobbler

Misc:  Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslit Die, Full Heart punch, Small Heart punch, 1 3/8" Oval punch, 1 3/4" Oval punch, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding

Paper:  Real Red CS, Pretty in Pink CS, Whisper White CS, Patterns Love DSP, Red Glimmer

Stamps:  Filled With Love

Ink:  Real Red, Versa Mark

Misc:  Pinking Heart Border punch, Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslit Die, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, 3/4" Circle punch, Full Heart punch, Small Heart punch, Heart to Heart punch, Heat and Stick Powder, Pink Glitter

Paper:  Whisper White CS, Basic Grey CS, Pretty in Pink CS, Patterns Love DSP

Stamps:  Valentine Defined

Ink:  Pretty in Pink, White Craft

Misc:  White Embossing Powder, 1 3/8" Oval punch, 1 3/4" Oval punch, Eyelet Border punch, Curly Label punch, Basic Rhinestones, white ribbon

Paper:  Whisper White CS, Real Red CS, Pink Pirouette CS, Love Impressions DSP

Stamps:  XOXO

Ink:  Real Red

Misc:  Small Heart punch, Bitty Buttons, 1 3/8" Circle punch, Scalloped Circle punch, 2 3/8" Circle punch, White Gel pen

Sweet Treats Valentine's Day Cards

These cupcakes look good enough to eat!  All three were cut with the Cricut Expression using the Sweet Treats cartridge with Stampin' Up! Sending Love DSP.   Stampin' Up! punches used; Word Window, Modern Lable, and Scalloped Trim Punch.  Real Red Ink stamped with sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes from Stampin' Up! coordinates with the cardstock and punches.  Ribbon and rhinestones from Michaels and Crystal Stickles complete the embellishments.  Thanks to Julie at  Paper Pleasing for the Easel card idea and she posted the Splitcoaststamper's tutorial to make Easel cards on her blog as well, so I will too!  Hope it inspires you to try this technique--it definitely inspired me!   Happy Valentine's Day!

Love Bug and Sweet Treats

Another fun Valentine's card using the Love Bug Hostess Stamp set--so quick and easy--too cute!!  I love using the Stampin' Up! water color pencils to customize my stamped images.  I can change the colors to match my paper stock and inks.  The Bitty Box die is so easy.  Just run the paper through the Big Shot, glue, fold, and viola!  I punched the box top with the Heart to Heart punch and mounted a piece of transparency paper underneath which allows the treats inside to be seen!  Fill with candy and it's ready for Valentine's Day gift giving!  Stampin' Up! Products used are:

• Bigz XL die Stampin' Up! Bitty Box
• Stamps: Stampin' Up! Love Bug Hostess Stamp Set
• Papers: DSP Sending Love
• Punches: Scallop Circle,  Heart to Heart , Ticket Corner
• Ink: Real Red and Water Color Pencils
• Embellishments: Ribbon and Gemstones

Special Delivery

Our new Cricut Expression was delivered on Friday, so we brought it with us this weekend to Lake View Lodge!  We've been using a few of our new Cricut cartridges too!  This mailbox is from the Love Struck 2010 cartridge and is cut from Stampin' Up! cardstock Lovely Lilac accented with Chocolate Chip and paper from the DSP Sending Love.  The Scallop border punch and the Heart to Heart punch made light work of the final touches.  This "Special Delivery" is large enough to hold a small gift, candy, or a sweet sentiment.

. . . and more hearts!

I just received my Stampin' Up! order for this week with the Sizzix Big Shot for Stampin' Up! Movers & Shapers Curly Label which is sold exclusively through Stampin' Up!  I also received the Punch Windows Movers & Shapers (Set of 4 - Full Heart, Large Star, Scalloped Oval, and Modern Label).  These can be used with the die and also coordinates with the Stampin' Up! Punches of the same name.    To make this card I used the Movers & Shapers die with the Full Heart Punch Window.   The papers used were from the Sending Love DSP pack with Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, and Pretty In Pink card stock and Chocolate Chip Classic ink.  The Pretty In Pink cardstock was put in the Cuttlebug Dotted Swiss Embossing Folder and punched out with the Full Heart Punch which fits inside the Full Heart Movers & Shapers Punch Window.  The heart shape can be moved anywhere on the card, so you can choose where you want it placed.  The bag is from the BIGZ XL BAG W/SCALLOPS die which is also another exclusive through Stampin' Up!  All items are available currently and can be ordered through my Stampin' Up! link.

Split Negative Heart Card

This card was created for a challenge offered on Splitcoaststampers.com.  If you've never visited their site, you should!  They offer tutorials and different daily challenges which allow you to try out new techniques.  You can post a picture of your product on their site and get feedback on it from other site visitors.

The Split Negative technique uses two different images of the same stamp.  Cut both completed images in half, and switch one half with the opposite image.  The effect is a completed image in two different color schemes.  It's a really awesome technique that we will be including in one of our future technique classes.

Craft Haven Retreats Hosts a Stampin' Up! Workshop January 30, 2010

Craft Haven Retreats will host two events on January 30, 2010 at Lake View Lodge.  An afternoon Stampin' Up! workshop and our first girl's night slumber party workshop.  We will be making several Valentine's Day projects featuring the new Clear-mount Stamps, Two-Step punches, and Sending Love Specialty Designer Series Paper from the new Stampin' Up! Occasions Mini Catalog  paper pack.  We will also be using the Sizzix Big Shot to create a Valentine Treat Shaker Box. 

For the evening slumber party, we will be pulling out all the stops and demonstrating the new Limited Edition Love Struck 2010 Cricut Cartridge on our new Cricut Expression!