Watercolor Wash Stamp Off

Posted on September 21, 2018 by

Watercolor Wash Stamp Off

It’s Friday! Welcome to the latest Stamp Off Challenge. This time, it’s a technique challenge.

I love doing a watercolor wash background, so I had a blast with this challenge. I’m in a swap with some friends, and I received a card today from Sandy. I almost posted it, because she used this technique on her card. It’s beautiful! I’ll post hers next week, but this is my card for the challenge.

Colorful Seasons, Stampin' Up!

I saw an idea like this on a stamping group page on Facebook. It was a Halloween card, so I changed the colors to make it more versatile.

I used Granny Apple Green, Blueberry Bushel, and Balmy Blue for my wash. The Blueberry Bushel and Granny Apple Green blended together, so it all looks like Balmy Blue, but there is Blueberry Bushel in there, trust me. Watercolor Paper is perfect for this challenge. The color blends so well when you use Watercolor Paper. I squeezed my stamp pad to get ink in the lid, then picked up the color with an Aqua Painter. (You really can do this with the new stamp pads. You just may have to squeeze a little harder, but it’s possible. If you can’t get ink in the lid – I’m a pianist, so my fingers may be stronger – simply add a drop of ink refill in the lid. Easy!)

After the wash dried, I added the Basic Gray punched cat with some Silver Metallic Thread. I added a smile to my cat’s face so it would tie in with the sentiment from the Colorful Seasons Stamp Set.

This card was inspired by our cat Ashlynn. She is so funny. She was abandoned as a kitten, so she’s a little skittish. She’s calmed down quite a bit, but she still has her moments. She’s finally making friends with Max, our new dog. She’s almost the same size, so I suppose he’s a little less intimidating.

Ashlynn loves boxes and bags. Whenever we have a box that hasn’t been disposed of yet, or if she finds an empty shopping bag or gift bag, she’s all in. I think they make her feel safe.

Colorful Seasons, Stampin' Up!

This is Ashlynn tonight. This box isn’t empty; it contains headlights for my car. That doesn’t matter to Ashlynn. She has also taken possession of two dog beds. Silly cat. She always makes me smile.

Please take a few minutes to check out Jackie’s and Susan’s watercolor wash posts. I can’t wait to see what they have done!

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy. Have a lovely day!

Product List

Colorful Seasons Photopolymer Stamp Set

$27.00

Watercolor Paper

$5.00

Blueberry Bushel 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$8.50

Granny Apple Green 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$8.50

Basic Gray 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$8.50

Blueberry Bushel Classic Stampin' Pad

$7.50

Balmy Blue Classic Stampin' Pad

$7.50

Granny Apple Green Stampin' Pad

$7.50

Silver Metallic Thread

$3.50

Cat Punch

$18.00

Aqua Painters

$17.00
Posted in Colorful Seasons, Watercoloring | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Into the Woods

Posted on September 20, 2018 by

Into the Woods

The Stampin’ Up!® Holiday catalog is full of amazingly gorgeous and fun stamps, papers, accessories, and bundles. I went way overboard with my purchases in August. The good news is I have lots of Bonus Coupons to use this month!

One of my favorite bundles is the Winter Woods Stamp Set and In the Woods Framelits Dies. You can bundle them and save 10%, of course. And, for the record, there is no “into the woods” product. I used that as a title so you’d have an ear worm for awhile. (Here’s the trailer for the movie version of the Sondheim musical.) It was mostly for my friend Darrah Hopper who was always giving me ear worms with her references to musicals.

Here’s the third card we made in September classes.

This is a CASE of a card I found on Pinterest. I changed a few things. First, the original artist used the Twinkle Twinkle Designer Series Paper (DSP). It looked awesome, but I realized I didn’t have enough paper for everyone. So we made our own paper. Instead of stars, we have snowflakes, thanks to the Timeless Textures Stamp Set and Whisper White Craft Ink.

The “bare trees” in the original card were die-cut from Sparkle Glimmer Paper. Here’s the Glimmer Paper story. When you’re die-cutting from the glimmer paper, especially using a detailed die like the “bare tree” (every time I said that in class, people thought, “Bear Tree.” So funny!), it works better to die-cut from the back, so the trees are reversed. I had to cut 48 of these trees for class. I decided to use Whisper White Cardstock instead, because it was a little easier. The glimmer paper is gorgeous, and for one or five cards, it’s a breeze. But for 24 cards? Whisper White won. My first plan was to have everyone cut their own trees, but it took a little longer than I had planned at the first class. For the second class, I decided to cut one set for each person (they were making two each of this card). But then I remembered one of the attendees was 8-3/4 months pregnant, and I didn’t want her going into labor at the Big Shot, so I die-cut everyone’s trees for the second class.

We used a Sponge Dauber and Frost White Shimmer Paint over the trees to give them a little glitz since we didn’t use the glimmer paper. It doesn’t photograph well, but it looks really fun in person.

I wanted a “white on white” effect, so the base card is a 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ piece of Whisper White Cardstock, scored and folded to create a 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ card. The next layer is a 4″ x 5-1/4″ Whisper White layer, added to the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals. The sentiment from the Winter Woods Stamp Set is stamped on this layer using a Night of Navy Classic Stampin’ Pad.

The Night of Navy layer is also 4″ x 5-1/4″, but we either cut or tore the bottom to create a snow scene. It works best to cut/tear this layer first, then use it as a guide for the sentiment placement.

Finally, we added the trees. The evergreen tree is two die-cuts. We added the full tree to the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals, then the 3-D die-cut was added using a Fine-tip Glue Pen. Make sure you do not put glue behind the fluffy boughs. You want them to curl up a bit, and if you glue them down, they won’t fluff. A bone folder works really well to curl the boughs a bit.

The Basic Pearl Jewels add so much to the trees! I need to add one or three more. I kept mine to a minimum so I wouldn’t run out of pearls for class. But I only have four on my tree, and even numbers just look a little wonky. I see where I’m going to add the other three to my tree.

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy. Tune in tomorrow for a Watercolor Wash Challenge with Susan, Jackie and me. I can’t wait to see their cards! Have a lovely day!

Product List

Timeless Textures Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$20.00

Timeless Textures Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$20.00

Winter Woods Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$23.00

Winter Woods Wood-Mount Stamp Set

$31.00

Winter Woods Clear-Mount Bundle

$50.25

Winter Woods Wood-Mount Bundle

$57.50

Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad

$7.50

Uninked Stampin’ Craft Pad & Whisper White Refill

$9.50

Night Of Navy 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$8.50

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$9.75

Frost White Shimmer Paint

$8.00

Pearl Basic Jewels

$5.00

Sponge Daubers

$5.00

In The Woods Framelits Dies

$33.00
Posted in Holiday Mini Catalog, Holidays, Timeless Textures, Winter Woods | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Dandelion Wishes

Posted on September 19, 2018 by

Dandelion Wishes

My friend Jackie has used the Dandelion Wishes stamp set from Stampin’ Up!® for several cards. They have all been lovely, so I had to get it. I’m so glad I yielded to the “buy one more stamp set” temptation!

Dandelion Wishes, Fairy Celebration, Stampin' Up!

I thought about saving this card for an upcoming challenge, but I couldn’t wait to share it. We’re making it for September classes, and it’s really very simple.

I used Pineapple Punch, Mango Melody, and Pumpkin Pie Stampin’ Write Markers to create the “faux watercolor wash” background. Simple scribble the markers on an acrylic block, then spritz with water. I turned the block over onto the Shimmery White Cardstock, but I think it works better to place the cardstock on the wet block. That way you don’t get random drips of ink.

Let the paper dry completely if you want a clear image. Sometimes, if I want a faux watercolor look, I’ll stamp on damp cardstock so the ink will run a bit. But this time, I wanted the image to be sharp, so I waited (surprise, surprise!!) until it was dry, then stamped the dandelion in Smoky Slate Classic Ink.

I used the Stamparatus, because I wanted to emboss the dandelion. I wanted it to be sparkly, but didn’t want it too shiny. What to do, what to do? I left the stamp and cardstock in place in the Stamparatus, cleaned the Smoky Slate ink off the stamp, then stamped it again in VersaMark ink. I had mixed a little Clear Stampin’ Emboss Powder with Dazzling Diamonds Glitter. It worked perfectly. The embossing powder holds the glitter in place, and there’s just a hint of glitter. Between the Dazzling Diamonds Glitter and the shimmer in the cardstock, it’s magical. (Note: Lots of stampers emboss in color by inking their stamp in Versamark, then in classic ink, then stamping. The stamp holds enough Versamark under the classic ink to work with embossing powder. I’ve done that as well, but I don’t like to do it often, because I don’t want Versamark in my ink pads. People have said, “It’s fine! It won’t hurt anything,” but I don’t like to take the chance. I ruined a Stampin’ Write Marker by doing this. The Versamark totally clogged up the marker. Besides, with the Stamparatus, it’s simple to stamp two times in the exact same spot.)

The sentiment is from the Fairy Celebration Stamp Set. It worked perfectly with the blowing dandelion seeds. I added a few Share What You Love Artisan Pearls to the card as well.

This image reminds me of an incident when the boys were young. Wes was about five years old, I think. Our yard was full of dandelions. I’d like to say it was because we wanted to save the bees, because that sounds so noble. The truth, though, is that if we simply got the yard mowed we were happy. We didn’t have time to keep weeds down as well.

Our next door neighbor had an immaculate lawn. He spent time on it every day, and it was perfect. One day, I caught Wesley standing on the “border” blowing dandelion seeds into the neighbor’s yard. I pretended he wanted to share our “flowers,” but I think he was just being mischievous. “Mischievous” sounds so much better than “naughty,” don’t you think?

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy. Have a lovely day!

Product List

Dandelion Wishes Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$20.00

Fairy Celebration Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$19.00

Pineapple Punch 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$8.50

Shimmery White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$9.00

Brights 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

$11.00

Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad

$7.50

Versamark Pad

$8.50

In Color 2018–2020 Stampin' Write Markers

$15.00

Brights Stampin' Write Markers

$30.00

Regals Stampin' Write Markers

$30.00

Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder

$5.00

Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter

$5.00

Share What You Love Artisan Pearls

$6.00

Stampin' Spritzer

$3.00

Clear Block E

$12.00
Posted in Dandelion Wishes, Fairy Celebration | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

You Can Make It!

Posted on September 18, 2018 by

You Can Make It!

This post really is about Stampin’ Up!®, although if my little “cheerleading” title gives you any encouragement today – yay! Because if you just hang on, you will make it through whatever you’re struggling with. Many people give up just before they get to the finish line, and that’s sad! Even if you’re the last one over, it’s such a sense of accomplishment to know you made it. This one moment in time will pass; you just need to keep moving forward.

So back to crafting. Have you ever seen a project in the Stampin’ Up!® catalog and thought, “I want to make that exact project?” I know I have. One of my very first big projects was a Christmas card. I looked up all the products and purchased them all to make the card exactly like the catalog. It turned out beautifully, in case you’re wondering. But it did take a lot of time to look up the materials and order them number by number.

You may have noticed this right away, but it took me a few weeks. In the 2018-19 Stampin’ Up!® Annual Catalog, there are six You Can Make It! bundles on page two. Everything you need for the project shown is bundled, so you only need one number.

You Can Make It, Stampin' Up!

How cool is that? But it gets better.

There are four You Can Make It! bundles in the 2018 Holiday Catalog. At least two of the bundles can be used for all occasion cards as well as cards for fall and winter holidays.

First, there are the Wishing You Well cards.

Wishing You Well, Stampin' Up!

The beautiful Pleasant Pheasants Cards.

Pleasant Pheasants, Stampin' Up!

The fun Santa’s Workshop cards, including the little Santa’s Bags treat bags.

Stampin' Up!, Memories & More

And the adorable Making Christmas Bright cards.

Stampin' Up!, Making Christmas Bright
Which You Can Make It! bundle is your favorite? Just enter one number for each bundle and you’ll be crafting away before you know it!

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy. Have a lovely day.

 

Posted in Project Kits | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Rooted in Nature and Clearance Rack Update

Posted on September 17, 2018 by

Rooted in Nature and Clearance Rack Update

Stampin' Up! Clearance Rack

Good news! The Stampin’ Up!® Clearance Rack has been updated! If you loved Fast Fuse, now is a good time to stock up; refills are available for $3.50! But hurry – supplies are limited and once they’re gone you won’t be able to order them. You can add current Stampin’ Up!® products to your order as well, of course.

One of my favorite products in the Stampin’ Up!® Holiday Catalog is the Tin Tile Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. It’s perfect for fall projects, especially when used with the new Galvanized Metallic Paper.

For today’s card, I used Cooper Foil instead of the Galvanized Metallic Paper. It worked a little better with the colors in the card. (But you can be sure I’ll show you the Galvanized paper soon!)

Rooted in Nature, Stampin' Up!This is one of the cards for September classes. I used a Jet Black Stāzon pad to add ink to the Gold Foil sheet. I didn’t want it totally covered; I just wanted a hint of distress. The Stāzon pad I used was a little on the dry side, and I think that worked a little better, because it didn’t add a whole lot of ink.

I heat-set the foil, just to be sure the Stāzon wouldn’t transfer to my embossing folder, then ran the strip through Big Shot with the Tin Tile Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.

The sentiment from Rooted in Nature is stamped in Early Espresso Classic Ink on a Crumb Cake oval that I die-cut using the Layering Ovals Framelits Dies. I also stamped the trees – also from Rooted in Nature – in Shaded Spruce Classic Ink. I stamped off one time so they wouldn’t overwhelm the sentiment. Because I used my Stamparatus with the sentiments, I could be sure they would both fit on the oval die-cut.

Between the embossed foil strip and the colors of the cardstock, trees, and sentiments, this card seemed to scream for some Wood Textures Designer Series Paper. I love the way they work together! I adhered it to a Merry Merlot card base.

I seem to be sending a lot of thinking of you and sympathy cards lately. More often than not, I use butterflies or flowers, so this is a perfect card to send to a man or to a couple.

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy. Don’t forget to check out my online store for super deals, as well as the Holiday and Annual catalogs. Have a lovely day.

Product List

Rooted In Nature Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$42.00

Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad

$7.50

Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' Pad

$7.50

Jet Black Stazon Ink Pad

$9.00

Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$8.50

Merry Merlot 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$8.50

Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack

$11.00

Copper Foil Sheets

$4.00

Tin Tile Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

$10.00

Stamparatus

$49.00

Layering Ovals Framelits Dies

$35.00
Posted in Rooted in Nature | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Grape Expectations

Posted on September 14, 2018 by

Grape Expectations

For our Stampin’ Up!® Demonstrator meeting this month, our challenge was to CASE (Copy and Share Everything) a card from a current Stampin’ Up!® catalog. The results were fabulous!

I decided to CASE the Cookie Cutter Christmas card on page 97 of the Annual Catalog. It’s the one with the little bear in the center. My card is nothing like that one, except for the sketch.

Wonderful Moments, Stampin' Up!

I just got the Wonderful Moments Stamp Set, so I decided to use that. I saw a card the other day that used Granny Apple Green and Gorgeous Grape, and I loved that combination. (Thanks, Mindy Clove!) I also like Gorgeous Grape with Pacific Point – so I used all three.

First, I embossed the top 4″ x 5-1/4″ layer with Ruffled Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. I adhered it to a 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ card base, then added the strip of Pacific Point Designer Series Paper and a little Granny Apple Green Textured Weave Ribbon.

After stamping the image in Jet Black Stazon, I colored it with Stampin’ Write Markers and an Aqua Painter. (I scribbled on acrylic blocks with the markers, then picked up the color with the Aqua Painter.) My colors are Crumb Cake, Pacific Point, Gorgeous Grape, Basic Black, and Petal Pink. I die-cut the image with the Layering Ovals Framelits, then sponged a little more Granny Apple Green on the edges.

I stamped the sentiment in Gorgeous Grape, then punched with the Pretty Label Punch and cut the top and bottom off. In retrospect, having an image with her back turned is probably not the best for a thank you card. However, since I didn’t stamp anything in her hand, it looks like she’s dancing – so she’s probably just so happy from whatever she’s thanking you for, that she’s doing a dance.

The purple in the Nature’s Twine combo pack is Blackberry Bliss, but it looks great with the Gorgeous Grape. I added a Blackberry bow with a rhinestone to finish off the card.

I forgot to get pictures of the other entries, but they were all so beautiful. My team members are so creative!

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy. Have a lovely day!

Product List

Wonderful Moments Photopolymer Stamp Set

$26.00

Jet Black Stazon Ink Pad

$9.00

Brights Stampin' Write Markers

$30.00

Subtles Stampin' Write Markers

$30.00

Neutrals Stampin' Write Markers

$30.00

Granny Apple Green Stampin' Pad

$7.50

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$9.75

Gorgeous Grape 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$8.50

Brights 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

$11.00

Granny Apple Green 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Textured Weave Ribbon

$7.50

Nature's Twine

$9.00

Rhinestone Basic Jewels

$5.00

Layering Ovals Framelits Dies

$35.00

Ruffled Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

$10.00

Aqua Painters

$17.00

Stamping Sponges

$3.50
Posted in Wonderful Moments | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

More Birthday Love

Posted on September 13, 2018 by

More Birthday Love

Friends who know me well know that I tend to celebrate my birthday for a whole month. In these days of technology, we don’t normally check our calendars, so you don’t see birthdays until they pop up on social media. By then, it’s too late to send a card that will arrive on time (unless you’re really super organized). To combat this, I start celebrating August 4 and continue through October 4. That way, no one feels like their card is late. I’m that thoughtful!

Miss Amelia’s birthday is six days before mine. She was actually due on September 11, a week later than mine, but she was very long/tall and her mommy is…not. In height, Amelia takes after my side and her paternal grandparents’ side. Of course, she is brilliant, so, obviously, that comes from my side too. 🙂 Height-wise, I honestly think she ran out of room and kicked her way out. (Her mom will agree with me. I know that’s what it felt like!). Because we had so many festivities for Amelia’s birthday – breakfasts, lunches, ice cream, parties, and more! – when my birthday came around, she thought the presents were for her. (I love you, Sweetie, but back away! Those colored pencils are all mine!)

Today was another celebration. I’m not sure if it was for her or for me, but we went to Chuck E Cheese’s. We were supposed to go to the zoo, but the weather here is a little iffy. Last year, it rained cats and dogs and elephants and zebras at the zoo, so we wanted to have a sunny and dry day this time. Today was not that day. (Thanks, Florence. Can you just go away now?) Chuck E Cheese’s won – and we had so much fun. I’m not sure which one of us had the most fun.

So now that I’m home, I wanted to show you a few more of my birthday cards.

Healing Hugs, Stampin' Up!

This is from my friend Merrilee Mager who is a Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator in Oregon. Isn’t that gorgeous? Merrilee used the Healing Hugs set for the flower. I don’t have this set yet, but it’s really high on my wish list. I have lots of Bonus Days coupons to use, so maybe this is the month! It’s a beautiful “DistINKtive” stamp. She paired it with the Tropical Escape Designer Series Paper (DSP). I love the funky, modern DSP with the DistINKtive stamp. So fun!

I met Merrilee last year at the November 2017 Stampin’ Up! ® OnStage in Salt Lake City. She was all alone, and one of the ladies in our condo invited her to join us for meetings and dinner. I’m so glad she did! Merrilee was so much fun, and she’s an awesome crafter!

Stampin' Up!

Speaking of the Tropical Escape DSP, this card is from Rose Siemer. I may have shown it to you already. (Yes, I did. You can read more about the card and about my dear, sweet Rose here.) It’s so gorgeous! I love how that sentiment just pops out.

Rose is one of my downline, and she’s one of the sweetest people I know. This was my first birthday card this year!

Paper Pumpkin, Stampin' Up!

This card is from Sandy Moriarty. Sandy is my oldest downline. Not in years (she may be surprised to know that she’s not my oldest in years!), but the one with the most tenure. Sandy is celebrating eight years with Stampin’ Up!® this November. Sandy is so funny. Every month, she would say, “I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be active.” Eight years later, she is still going strong. Sandy used the lovely Paper Pumpkin kit from August. It’s such a beautiful and elegant card!

Broadway Birthday, Stampin' Up!, Paper Pumpkin

This card is from Susan Horr in upstate New York. According to Susan, they have two seasons – Winter and July. That’s actually how I “met” Susan. She wanted something to put on her car to advertise her Stampin’ Up!® business, but it had to be something inside the car because of the upstate New York winters. I had several Stampin’ Up!® clings that I didn’t need, so I sent her some. The payment was a card. I was WOWed by Susan’s card (and that continues every day now), and I was so happy to meet her at a Leadership convention years ago. We’ve been cyber (and real life) BFFs ever since. You’ve probably also figured out that she’s the “S” in the BS&J Friday Stamp-Off Challenges. She and Jackie are my besties – and they’ve inspired me so much.

Susan used the Broadway Birthday set on her card, as well as the Broadway Bound DSP. I’m pretty sure she also used some of the July (I think) Paper Pumpkin kit that coordinated with the Broadway Bound Suite. Look at the inside.

Broadway Birthday, Broadway Bound, Stampin' Up!, Paper Pumpkin

YES!!!! It’s a pop-up. I think it’s a twist and pop card. These aren’t too difficult, and there are lots of videos on YouTube. But there’s also a die that is much, much easier. Google “pivot twist pop up” and see what comes up.

Thanks to all my friends for the gorgeous cards – and thank you for stopping by Stamping with Buffy. Have a lovely day!

Posted in Birthdays, My Paper Pumpkin | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments