Stamping Christmas Cards with Novice stampers!

 Hey Stampers!

I did something really fun last night! My daughter and her good friend wanted to have a Girls' Night Out with some of their friends and thought making some Christmas cards sounded like fun. Other than my daughter, the rest of the crew were novice stampers and by most of their admissions, "not crafty at all"! I was excited to show them that stamping doesn't take a "crafty gene" and the only skills required are those you master in kindergarten like being a good listener, sharing supplies, gluing paper and having a really fun time with friends!

I knew I had to design a couple of cards that were not for avid stampers but I also didn't want them to stamp one thing and call it good. I was pretty sure that they would get the hang of stamping so why not design cards that feature plenty of stamping and leave all the other bells and whistles in my stamp room. Here are the cards I designed and I'll share below my thinking on each one.

This is the first card we did so they got their hands inky for the first time with the Peaceful Deer stamp set. We started with just the small Basic White card stock piece in front of them and stamped a starry background (retired stamps) and the sentiment. I then told them we are taking stamping to the next level and did a simple shadow stamping with the pine tree.  By then, they were already amazed at what they had created! I sent around some scrap Basic White to stamp the deer, showed them how to use the coordinating punch, introduced the Stampin'Up' Seal tape runner and dimensionals while we put the card together with all the other elements. Adding a little bling here and there with the glimmer paper and rhinestones topped it off. This was a very simple card in principle but by the time they were done, they really were excited about what they had made. 

This is the next card we made:

One of my favorite sets from the current Mini Catalog is the "Christmas Season" stamp set and dies. We didn't use any dies and I didn't even really talk about die cutting.  I wanted to show them how to stamp with two-step stamping, use a background stamp and just do lots and lots of stamping on a simple Very Vanilla card stock background. This card introduced more color and shades of color, i.e. Shaded Spruce and Just Jade as well as Soft Suede and Early Espresso. After they were done stamping, I took them over to my Stampin'Up! Cut & Emboss machine and we embossed our stamped piece with the Tasteful Textile 3D folder. I wanted them to see how we can create texture with an embossing folder and make our paper now seem almost like parchment or fabric. Prior to putting on the sentiment, we spritzed our stamped pieces with a mixture of rubbing alcohol and Frost shimmer paint to give it a bit of a glow. All of these techniques were easy but quite mind-blowing to novice stampers. People have no idea what you can do with paper and ink until you show them and you don't have to display your whole arsenal of tools. My goal was to have fun with no stress and no sense of "I can't do this, it's too overwhelming" for anyone. 

To finish out the night, I pulled out some retired tag kits and let them just play, eat from the plentiful food buffet and talk and chat to their hearts' content. What a fun night! Here's what I know about stamping and newbies:

1. It doesn't have to be complicated, it's better if it's not.

2. While the dies, embossing folders and all the techniques are essential for avid stampers, they can easily overwhelm newbies.

3. If you have to cut something, try to use a punch. They will love how it works and think the coordination with the stamp is amazing. 

4. Fewer projects is better than too many.

5. End the time with some sort of "free for all" where they can create using some random stamps, paper, etc and keep trying out their new found stamping skills. Christmas tags for gifts were the perfect way to end this party. 

6. Repeatedly assure them that what they have made is great just the way it is, including any flaws, stamping halos or crookedness that happened along the way. It's all part of learning and who doesn't want to be encouraged when they are brave enough to try something new!

7. Offer food and drink, music in the background and it always helps to have a friendly dog wandering around accepting love and hugs. 

Here's a few pics from a super fun Girls' Night Out!

After a night like this I always think to myself "I should do this more often"!! And, that's my plan for 2022!

Happy Stampin',

Sarah

Whimsical Christmas Fun Fold Card

Hey Stampin' Friends!

I'm hopping on my blog today to share a fun card we did at a recent card class. As a side note, many of the participants were somewhat new to stamping and they felt pretty accomplished after making this as their first card! It's a fun card that features lots of Designer Series Paper so would be adaptable to any theme, season or occasion. Here's the card:

It's a multi-paneled card with some precise scoring to allow it to all fold up and tuck into an envelope. Here's what it looks like when it's opened and expanded:

It was fun to tackle a different Christmas color palette with this card and the Whimsy and Wonder suite was perfect! The main colors of Misty Moonlight, Mint Macaron, Polished Pink and Blushing Bride provided a very non-traditional but still stunning look. Bits of silver foil accents are sprinkled throughout some of this gorgeous Designer Series Paper to make it glimmer and shine.  There isn't a ton of stamping on my particular card so the DSP steals the show!

Here are the measurements for the card base and scoring directions:

1 piece of base cardstock that is 5-1/2" x 11-3/4" (just cut 1/4" off a 12" piece of card stock)

Score from left to right at:

2"

3"

5"

7-3/4"

You fold the card in an accordion style and then cut any DSP 1/4"  less than each panel in height and width. You can mix and match paper, add more stamping, add more embellishments or die cuts or do whatever you wish! I love this easy fun fold!

We added a simple band to tie it together with some Blushing Bride frayed grosgrain ribbon (part of the suite) and a sparkly miniature start ornament (on the Clearance Rack) to hold the card shut. If you tie it somewhat loosely, you can easily slide the band on and off!

All the supplies for this card are listed below and I hope you'll consider adding some "whimsy" to your Christmas with this fun suite!

Thanks for stopping by! I always read your comments and try to respond so leave any questions or comments as well!

Until next time, Happy Stampin'!

Sarah

 

Delivering Cheer!

 Hey Friends!

I'm back with a card featuring two products I've had sitting on my stampin' desk for awhile now! The first product was the Diorama set of dies. I wasn't sure what to do with them and played around with a couple of ideas that I didn't love. I laid it aside and came back to it last week with something special created.  I want to share the card, then I'll explain how I made it!

The Diorama die set has multiple dies, different shapes and sizes that can be used and then layered with or without dimensionals to create a shadow box type of effect.  It was really fun to play with them. I chose three different ones that gave each layer enough of a viewable edge. Since I'm in Christmas mode, I decided to create a holiday card with these dies and the "Delivering Cheer" stamp set. I love the stamp set "Delivering Cheer" which is reminiscent of a hostess set we had in the past. It features a woman's lower half of her body and her obviously carrying something. The stamps are ingenious in that they are interchangeable so you can customize what you want to do with them. When I cut the smallest die, I layered Mossy Meadow card stock on top of my Real Red card base so it would cut through both layers, creating a window that peeks into the inside of the card.  When you open the card, you see all of the stamped image from the "Delivering Cheer" set. 

These great images are easy to color with our amazing alcohol Blends markers. I hope you notice her super cute knee high leggings. The details in these stamps are amazing! Just for fun, I added a sentiment from the "Christmas to Remember" stamp set and then punched out a deer with some bronze foil paper and added a red rhinestone nose for just a touch of humor (Rudolph, you know!).  Here's a look at the stamp set for more ideas:

In case you're curious, the three greens I used in the above card, from darkest to lightest are Mossy Meadow, Old Olive and Pear Pizzazz.  They have the same color tones, just different hues, so they compliment each other really well.  You can get any or all of the products I used to make this card by clicking on the pictures below which will take you straight to the online store for an easy shopping experience!

Thanks for stopping by! I have more "cheer" to deliver so until next time,

Happy Stampin'!

Sarah

What a Peaceful Cabin looks like when it's not snowing ;)

 Hi Stampers!

I'm back today with a twist on one of the Mini Catalog best sellers, the "Peaceful Cabin" bundle. The stamp set, coordinating Designer Series Paper and other companion elements are all about winter and snow and imaging a warm, cozy cabin to spend some time in. Well, I live in Montana where there are cabins everywhere and honestly, they probably get the most use in the months where it isn't snowing. Some are so far off the grid that winter and snow make them impossible to get to. Thus, summer is the perfect time to head to the cabin. I wanted to show this set could be used for a non-winter or holiday theme. 

The centerpiece of this card is the cabin. There is a die in the bundle that cuts out part of the cabin and ground surrounding it. I layered some Soft Suede card stock behind the Crumb Cake so the cutting pieces would stand out more. I also did another trick, prior to actually die cutting on the Crumb Cake piece. I inked up my die, on the cutting /blade side, with Early Espresso ink - lots of it! As I put the die through the Stampin'Up! Cut & Emboss, some of the ink transferred to the Crumb Cake cardstock, bringing some more shading detail to my cabin. I loved how this turned out. When you look at the die alone, you will think it cuts out a cabin but in reality it cuts out some lines of a cabin. I hope that makes sense! There are some wonderful pine tree dies included in this bundle and it was fun to add some of them around the cabin. My background Designer Series Paper is from the "Harvest Meadow" pack, also featured in the Jul-Dec Mini Catalog, on page 55. I also wanted to add a little pop of color to the top of the card, behind my sentiment, so a grabbed a scrap strip of the Christmas Designer Series Paper from the Annual Catalog, called "Tidings of Christmas". 

I love thinking out of the box a tad and seeing if I can stretch my bundles a little bit further by imagining a different theme, a different season, different colors, etc.  It always makes me feel like I'm getting a little more value from a product and of course, it's so fun to play and try different things. 

I hope you are having some great creative stamping therapy time these pretty fall days.  A cabin is a perfect vibe isn't it?! Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Stampin',

Sarah

 

Simply Elegant suite

 Hi Stampers! 

I'm back today with another featured suite from the 2021-2022 Annual Catalog, the "Simply Elegant" suite. If you like metallic accents on your creations, don't miss this set of fabulous products featuring copper, gold and silver alone and together! Here's the card I made to play with this fun set:

My purpose for this card was to do a different fold as well as show off some beautiful Designer Series Paper, the "Elegantly Said" pack. I used this card for a recent class and I think everyone "ooohed and aaahed" when I showed them the gorgeous paper with all the metallic foil accents. What is really versatile is that many of these papers combine metals so you aren't restricted to only gold or silver or copper on your design but can actually combine them.  The card fold is super easy. You need a base of 4-1/4" x 8-1/2", scored at 5-1/2".  The top flap is shorter than the bottom so you can add something to peek out like I did. On my inside, half of the Basic White sheet was plain and half had some DSP adhered to it. I wanted to be sure there was a place to write a greeting! My extra piece adhered to the top flap is Basic White cardstock with a wonderful flourish stamp using Basic Grey. I grabbed some retired Copper metallic ink for my birthday greeting, framed it with Copper Foil paper and added some metallic gems, part of the July-Dec Mini Catalog products.  I don't want to forget to mention the unique punch which made the tag part of this card. It's part of the "Elegantly Said" bundle and is unlike any other punch we offer. It was easy to tie some copper ribbon around the top of it! This is a fun but very fancy card for your fanciest of friends!

I want to show you a picture of the bundle in its entirety because there are so many more sentiments and other stamps in this great set:

I think this bundle is especially handy for wedding and anniversary cards and so did the artist who created it! I would be remiss not to show you the Designer Series Paper as well!

It's beautiful isn't it! The foil accents are on one side of each paper and the other sides have gray/black/white/cream designs that you can use "as is" or add color to with a sponge, brayer or our blending brush. So many options!!

 Thanks for stopping by to take a peak at what I'm up to today. Designing cards is my favorite part of the process and it's even more fun to share my ideas! You can get any or all of these products by clicking on one of the pictures below which will take you to the online store.

Hope you are having a great week full of creative stamping therapy!

Happy Stampin'!

Sarah

More Beauty of Friendship

 Hi Stampers!

I can't get enough of this paper. I almost have to say it's my favorite of all time! It's the "Beauty of Friendship" Designer Series Paper and it has all my favorite colors in just the right tones!  Here's my beautiful fall-inspired card for you today:

In my opinion, the star of the show is the beautiful DSP on the background of the card but I also love this perfect tree die. It captures what trees are looking like around here, losing their leaves, more every day.  I added some cute red birds and ribbon to top off the card. When I was first designing this, I decided the dark brown tree got a little lost on top of the DSP so I added a subtle layer of our fabulous vellum just to tone it down a bit and give the tree some space. It created a great effect so don't forget to use vellum if your idea is just too busy!

I have lots more to show you with this fun bundle and will keep posting as I can. I hope you are finding time to create in the midst of your daily life. It feeds the soul and mind and heart!

Happy Stampin'!

Sarah

"Gorgeous Leaves" on full display

 Hi Stampers!

"Gorgeous Leaves" were indeed on full display in Montana until a couple days ago when we got our first snowstorm of the coming winter. The snow is melting and falling off the trees so I can see the pretty fall-colored leaves again, but for how long?  This is always a tricky time of year as winter is our predominant season and it loves to show up early, like an over eager guest haha!

I'm choosing to live in the moment of all and keep on stamping with autumn in mind. I grabbed my "Gorgeous Leaves" bundle the other day and made this beauty!

Do you recognize the "Beauty of the Earth" Designer Series Paper for the background? That DSP premiered in the Annual Catalog way back in May but is perfect for so many autumn-themed projects. Don't forget about it if you have some in your paper stash or you can still purchase it in the online store. Now, to the leaves! I rarely stamp directly on watercolor paper, but that's what I did in this case with my leaves. Our "Fluid 100" watercolor paper is amazing, so thirsty and able to absorb all the water you want to lay on it! I stamped the leaves using Merry Merlot, Mossy Meadow and Cajun Craze inks and then spritzed them heavily with water in a spritzer. I let that dry and then cut them out with the coordinating dies. The water spritzing really made the colors pop and bleed just enough to give it an interesting watercolor effect. Because I used watercolor paper, the leaves a little heavier than usual cardstock. The sentiment was from the Hostess Sale-A-Bration set which is no longer available but any sentiment will do with this design. I would recommending stamping your sentiment first, then you know where to place your leaves!

An easy card that packs a punch with the combination of ink and water and it's fun to make! If you love to make cards or would like to try to make a card, be sure to come to my upcoming Card Buffet, next weekend, October 22-23, 9:30 am to 1:30 p.m. both days, at my home. Contact me for specific details but all are welcome, including newbies to the card making/papercrafting world. It's an easy hobby to pick up and one that will give hours of therapeutic enjoyment and escape from the rest of life!

If you can't wait to make one of these, check out the supplies below and click on any of them to go directly to the store. I'm generally available for questions and love to help show others how to bring out the inner creative beast! Here's hoping you are surrounded by gorgeous leaves wherever you are today!

Happy Stampin'!

Sarah

Eden's Garden sneak peek - coming in November!

 Hey Stampers!

Guess what! We are getting dumped on with snow in Montana today, October 11th, so it's a perfect time to hit the stamp room and play with some of the latest products Mr. Brown (UPS) has been dropping off at my house the last few weeks! We played hard all summer but now it's back to my favorite indoor activities like stamping, knitting and quilting!

A great new collection is coming your way November 2nd! It's called "Eden's Garden" and it's lovely. The stars of the show are two of our newest In Colors, Evening Evergreen and Soft Succulent. The Designer Series paper is unbelievably gorgeous with those two colors and some gold accents thrown in. I made some cards with the products to show you, as well as an overview video which premiers the products and the paper. First the cards:

What do you think? The paper is so pretty and the stamps/dies are unique even though they are floral/leafy in theme. I hope my gold foil embossed flowers caught your eye! I used the "Art In Bloom" bundle with the floral die and Hybrid embossing folder. It's all demonstrated on the video so check it out! 

I'll post all the details after November 2nd when the products are available to purchase. For now, this is just to inspire you to get back to stamping if it's been awhile! I took much of August and September off while we were adventuring and guess what, I was able to jump right back in. You can too!  Here's the video introducing the Eden's Garden collection and more details about what products I used for these cards. 

Finally, take a quick peek at some of the ideas the artists at Stampin'Up! came up with!

 

I can't wait to play more and see what others come up with! Have fun and keep stamping!

Sarah

A Christmas to Remember - Christmas and Pinecones!

Hi Stampin' Friends!

Have you started to turn your crafty brain towards Christmas yet? I'm sure you've already seen some hints at store displays, Hallmark Christmas movie commercials and the like! It always comes up a little quicker than we anticipate and getting a headstart on some Christmas crafting is a great idea!

One of the bundles I purchased in August was the "Christmas to Remember" bundle. I love the sentiments and fonts of the fun set and also the pinecones and bough dies that coordinate with this set. I'll have lots to show you in the weeks ahead but here's a rather simple idea that I think fits some of the current Christmas decor vibe that I see in stores.

 What do you think? There are a couple of huge dies that cut a bough/pinecone themed background. It can be tricky to use large dies and my #1 tip is to use new or at least flat acrylic cutting plates when you attempt it. If you have old plates that are slightly warped, it doesn't go through the Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine evenly and you won't get a perfect cut, resulting in some frustration. That comes directly from my personal experience! I kept my design pretty simple by cutting the background die out of patterned Designer Series Paper from one of the Sale-A-Bration free product packs but your favorite shade of green cardstock would work too. This paper most closely matches Garden Green.  I then cut two pinecones, a large one and smaller one using Early Espresso cardstock for the base and Soft Suede cardstock for the upper detailed layer. I think you could reverse these for another option.  I love the black and white gingham ribbon that is EVERYWHERE in the home decor world. Stampin'Up! carries it as part of their Halloween lineup of products but I say it's perfect for that country Christmas look. I also kept my sentiment simple (one of the stamps in the featured set) and put it all on a Crumb Cake cardstock background to make it look a little more rustic.  

There are lots of Christmas styles featured in this years July-December Mini Catalog. Click on the picture to the right ====>>> and see if you can find "you" in any of these fun bundles and suites. There are classic, contemporary, whimsical, sacred, Santa and more featured in all the styles. It's a smorgasbord of Christmas with all the trimmings!

Let me know if you have any questions or you can check out the online store by clicking on any of the images below for more product information and ordering. Thanks for taking a quick peek to see what I'm up to. It's always fun to share what you love and I love stamping!

Happy Stampin'!

Sarah

A first look at the Blackberry Beauty Suite

 Hi Stampers!

Long time, no blogging! My husband and I did some crazy traveling and ended up being gone most of September, little bit of August and October! It was so fun as we journeyed through Montana, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, more Idaho and Washington. I love where we live and love that we are relatively close to so many family, friends and amazing places to explore. I hope you've had some adventures too as summer has moved into autumn. Fall is our shortest season of the year in Montana. It can last a month, a couple of weeks or an afternoon, you just never know. So far, so good this year and I'm inspired to create with autumn in mind!

Our July-December Mini Catalog is brimming with ideas for all the upcoming holidays and they always love to feature leaves, pumpkins, Halloween, Thanksgiving and the rest.  One of the suites I had fun with yesterday is called "Blackberry Beauty". The color scheme and Designer Series Paper will draw you in as it is a bit unexpected for fall but rich and gorgeous. There are several components to the suite including stamps, coordinating dies, gold shimmer vellum paper, gold shimmer ribbon and a fun precut ephemera pack of leaves, sprigs, birds and frames for you to play with. 

I thought you'd like to see a couple of cards I made!

Both of these cards feature the wonderful "Blackberry Beauty" Designer Series Paper which features gold accents on one side of each double sided paper.  For the first card, I embossed the DSP with the "Timeworn Type" 3D embossing folder.  I added a sentiment from the "Banner Year" set which is in the Annual Catalog and some of the gold shimmer ribbon. The bottom card features die cuts from the ephemera pack and make creating a card quick and easy!

I plan to explore more of what this suite has to offer. You can get yours by clicking on any of the products pictured below, which will take you to the online store for easy ordering. 

The online store was updated today with a Clearance Rack refresh (always good deals on retired SU products) and a couple of Christmas kits have been added as well. Check them out here:

Kits Collection by Stampin'Up!

It was great to be traveling but it feels really great to be home and doing some of my favorite hobbies like stamping. I hope you're in the mood and check back often to see what I'm up to!

Happy Stampin'!

Sarah

Art in Bloom bundle with a Hybrid Embossing folder!

Hi Stamper friends!

I'm back to stamping this afternoon after a glorious 4 days of fun with our friends from Utah. We floated, laughed, 4-wheeled, explored, laughed some more and ate all the good snacks - so much fun! I'll share more of that in a minute as some of you will know who we were with!

Stampin'Up! has hit a homerun with the "Art In Bloom" bundle! It combines stamping, embossing and die cutting, all perfectly coordinated and the versatility to use it in different ways. I played with it this afternoon and made several cards which I want to show you. I'll give a brief description of the techniques used for each as well. Here's my favorite:

 I tried to use all the bells and whistles in this card! My background features two geometric stamps from the bundle and I used the "hinge" method of stamping with the Stamparatus. If you aren't familiar with that, you can see it in action in the video below. My color palette is Balmy Blue, Petal Pink, Pear Pizzazz and Old Olive. The flowers were cut and embossed at the same time, using the coordinating die and embossing folder with Basic White paper. Again, see the video for precise details and how to position the die inside the embossing folder for perfect results every time!

For this card, I again used the hybrid embossing folder and die at the same time, run through the Stampin' Cut & Emboss with Basic White paper. I figured the raised embossing would pick up the color from our Pastel chalks really nicely! If you lay them on their side as you color, only the raised portions take the color. (Details in video). I used some dimensionals behind the flowers to adhere them back where they were cut out from!

I used the 2021-2023 In Colors for this fun card! I stamped the outline of the flowers in Blackberry Bliss and then used three of the In Colors for the insides of the flowers. Double stamping is so fun and these kind of sets make it easy! I embossed and cut the flowers and also embossed my background of Soft Succulent. The leaf dies are an additional part of this bundle.

I hope you recognize the left over Basic White card stock piece from my prior embossing and cutting! I added some dimensionals to it and popped it up over some "Hand Penned" Designer Series Paper for a great look. I used more stamps and the die again to create my sentiment. 

All of these are so fun to make and I love making video tutorials to show you the details and the process! Take a look:

I hope you enjoyed checking this bundle out! If you decide to get one for yourself, I don't think you'll regret it! Click on any of the supplies listed at the bottom of the blog for a link to the online store and more information.

Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out what I've been up to this afternoon! AND, check out who I played with this weekend - our regional Demonstrator Development Manager, Donna Griffith and her husband Jeff!

We met through Stampin'Up! and were destined to be great friends when we found out how much we had in common including 4-wheeling in our RZRs, being outside, floating on a river, eating snacks, taking the road less traveled and marrying guys named "Jeff"!!  So. Much. Fun.

Happy Stampin'!

Sarah

Happy Sheep for Happy Sale-a-Bration!

 Hi Friends!

I have a quick, fluffy post for you today as I'm squeezing in some stamping in between all the summer fun of quick getaways, camping, floating the rivers, etc. I'm not whining or complaining about all the fun, just 'splaining why I haven't been very active on my blog!!

I did take a minute this morning and play with a couple of freebies offered in the Sale-A-Bration brochure. Both are eligible for a $50 order redemption! That means anytime you hit a $50 threshold in an order, you can claim a free product of your choice from the SAB brochure. Two of my choices were the "Counting Sheep" stamp set and coordinating "Sheep Dies". Here's what happened when I played with them today!

I'll give you some tips on what I did! First, I stamped the sheep with Tuxedo Black Momento ink and then used the Pale Pink and Smokey Slate Blends to color the sheep a tad. I think it makes them a little more interesting and not so one-dimensional. The fence, sun, balloon and pennant dies are included with the Sheep Dies set so they are fun to use and add to a project. For my background, I used another SAB freebie, the "Beautifully Penned" Designer Series Paper that is in shades of muted black and white. I colored all over it with a Blending Brush and Granny Apple Green ink. This is a fun set and suitable for any age or birthday celebration!

Check out the Sale-A-Bration freebies here:

Summer 2021 Sale-A-Bration products

I know you're probably as busy as I am this summer, but I hope you have some moments here and there to stamp. It will relax and inspire you, I promise!

Be sure and contact me if you have any questions, need some advice or help with a project or even just want to leave a comment! I'd love the feedback!

Happy Stampin'!

Sarah

New Mini Catalog and 2nd Sale-A-Bration promotion start today!

 

Hey Friends!

It's another wonderful day in Stampin'Up! land where a new catalog launches and for the first time ever, a second Sale-A-Bration promotion! I'll be sharing lots of details in the coming days and weeks but you should check out the catalog (click on the pic on the right ===>>>) and the Sale-A-Bration brochure (another click on the pic on the right ====>>>) and see all the great new products to help you celebrate and create the holidays of your dreams. 

If you've been around awhile, you'll remember that SAB means you get to add a free SAB item to any order every time you hit a $50 threshold, i.e. $150 order means 3 freebies! It's a way to get the Stampin'Up! product you want with some more thrown in for free, who doesn't love that!

There is a special stamp set for anyone with an order of $300 or more, referred to as a host special.

And, there's a list of bundles that you can choose for free if you decide to join Stampin'Up! as a demonstrator, in addition to the great value of the Starter Kit.

Here's a link to my website where you can shop, host or join! Let me know if you have questions and watch for more updates soon! Woohoo!

Big Sky Stampin' website

Blessings, 

Sarah

Peaceful Cabin bundle!

 Hey Stampin' Friends!

Today I want to share with you the first product I wanted to buy when I saw the new Mini Catalog (comes out on August 3rd) - the Peaceful Cabin bundle! Today I have a sneak peek for you and video "how-to" and on the 3rd or shortly thereafter, I'll post the details, including product purchase information. 

I love this set! It has trees, fences, cabins and even a cute little fox to spur on your imagination. I have only made one card so far so I hope to play with more of the dies and make some more, possibly even a non-wintry card! We did this card in my classes this week and it was a big hit!

The dies for the trees and cabin are unique and almost fool-proof because all you cut is the upper edge of both the trees and cabin. Check out my video for a better explanation and as we all know, you understand things much better when you can see it!

I have a feeling I've only just begun with this set! Stay tuned to my blog and YouTube channel for more with the Peaceful Cabin set as well as many of the Mini Catalog products! I hope Tuesday hurries and gets here soon!

Happy Stampin'!

Sarah

Picture This with What's Cookin!!

Hey Stampers!

It's great to check in again with some more ideas from the Annual Catalog that launched in May. It seems like a long time ago now, but it's really only been a few months and there's so much to play with! I keep coming back to the "What's Cookin" bundle as an easy favorite to create a themed card that will appeal to all those who cook and even all those who eat, so basically, everyone!!

Have a look at the card and then I'll tell you about it:

 My inspiration and starting point for this card was actually the die cut circle holes in the base layer. Have you noticed the "Picture This" dies in the Annual catalog? They are stand alone dies in that they are not bundled with any specific stamp set. I cut a base layer for a card out of one of the more colorful sheets of Designer Series Paper from the Hostess pack "Pattern Party", available as a hostess reward or stamper reward with an order of at least $150. I ran this piece of DSP through my Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine with the round circle "Picture This" die and these holes were cut. My next challenge was what to put in the holes. I grabbed my "What's Cookin" bundle, thinking I could do a combination of stamping and die cutting. I stamped some of the stamps on some white background paper after tracing the "hole" with a pencil on my white paper. I also stamped and die cut some additional elements to place on top of the card. In the end, I was really happy with how this card turned out as I was able to do a variety of things to create it.  I highly recommend both products if you love to stamp, love to cook and love to have a ready-made template with the dies which will cut windows in a circle shape or rectangle shape. Check out this blog post to see the rectangle die in action, which I featured a few weeks ago:

Picture this rectangle die post

We are coming to the end of the Designer Series Paper Sale - it is going on through August 2nd with a 15% discount on many of the DSP packs in the Annual Catalog. Check out the savings and choices here:

Designer Series Paper Sale

It won't be long until the Aug-Dec Mini Catalog will launch (Aug 3) and you will be able to get your hands on some lovely products for all your fall and Christmas holiday crafting and stamping. A year goes pretty fast anyway and it always go fast with new Stampin'Up! products on the horizon! Check back on August 3rd when I'll have a link to the new catalog and online store for all the goodies!

Happy Stampin'!

Sarah

Hats Off bundle for the whole family!

 Hey Stampers!

How's your July going? We are doing all the summer things so I'm not as faithful and consistent with my blog or my card making but I'm hoping to be a little more diligent the next couple of weeks. I'm not complaining! Summer is for getting outside and we love to do that as much as possible!

The sun is blazing in Montana and with unusually high temps, I'm even wearing a hat most days! That's a casual introduction to the theme of the bundle I want to feature today, hats! There's a great stamp and die set on page 47 of the new 2021-2022 Annual Catalog that will have you creating hats for all your favorite people and all their favorite causes, teams and hobbies! It's called "Hats Off" and has a fabulous ball cap die that you can customize  and make it all your own! Here's one I created, probably for my husband, who wears a ball cap almost all the time!

I had quite a bit of extra Designer Series Paper from the "Well Suited" collection that recently retired so I decided to use that for my background and color scheme.  These are perfect guy colors of Basic Black, Basic Gray, Night of Navy and Pacific Point.  There are two hat dies included in this set, one is large and one is very small. Don't you love the detailed stitching the dies create? Just like the real thing! There are all sorts of combos for hat customization and I chose a mountain scene and lightly colored it with some Blends alcohol markers. There are also some cute small dies including a buffalo, fish, tree, star and lightning bolt, all of which help you make the hat just like you want it! I used a dense embossing folder on my white strip of paper to give it some texture, any embossing folder will do!

Just to give you more ideas, Stampin'Up! created a short video featuring this bundle!

If you have some guys in your life and you enjoy making them cards, why not add the "Hats Off" bundle to your stash! I've included my supplies below and a click on any of them will take you to the online store for easy ordering!

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek! I hope you're making the most of summer but also taking some time to stamp, which is the best therapy of all!

Happy Stampin'!

Sarah 

Happy 4th of July and Happy Birthday!

Hi Friends!

I have a quick post today after a very fun 4th of July celebration at our house last night. Our middle daughter was born on the 4th of July so the fireworks are doubly meaningful and festive! I had some extra time so I wanted to make some table decor to celebrate the occasion (s). I grabbed some Stampin'Up! dies to help me out, as well as some patriotic-themed non SU paper and look what happened?!!

 I used the "Stitched Stars" Dies for the star die cut and the "Playful Alphabet" set for the letters!

This one includes a retired "Happy Birthday" die and retired "Hand-Lettered Prose" dies!

And the birthday girl!

It's fun to use your stash of products and your creative abilities for something besides cards or scrapbooks!

Give it a try sometime and you'll be amazed at the results!

Happy Stampin'!

Sarah

In Symmetry bundle

Hey Friends!

One of my favorite things to do with a new catalog is to look it over first really quick, then look it over more slowly and take time to savor and then start marking specific pages with sticky notes, color-coded to show order of priority to purchase! Maybe you approach it the same way or just start at the beginning and choose what you want here and there! 

The bundle I want to share today stood out to me for a couple of reasons. I really liked the solid stamp images (no coloring required) because as much as I love to color, I love bold stamping too. I also really liked the size and style of the font for the sentiments. Curious? Here's a sample I made when I was playing around with the "In Symmetry" bundle, consisting of a stamp set and coordinating punch.

 I neglected to mention there is also coordinating Designer Series Paper  - of course! It's Stampin'Up! and they love to coordinate their products so you can achieve a perfect, streamlined look to your project. I stamped the  large flower and smaller tulips and punched the Night of Navy leaves. I couldn't resist adding a little Bumblebee gingham ribbon because a small check gingham is almost irresistible!  This card was featured at a card class of mine in June. By the way, I am back to holding in-person card classes so check out my calendar for what's scheduled each month. I'd love to see you!

The "Sweet Symmetry" Designer Series Paper is on sale from now through August 2nd at 15% off. There are quite a few paper packs from the Annual Catalog on sale so if you love paper, you'll love this news! Here's a list of all the papers and I've included a link to the online store for easy ordering!

ITEM	PAGE	DESCRIPTION	PRICE
155841	130	BEAUTY OF THE EARTH 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER	$11.50 USD | 15.75 $ CAD $9.78 USD | 13.39 $ CAD
155696	131	BLOOM WHERE YOU’RE PLANTED 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER	$11.50 USD | 15.75 $ CAD $9.78 USD | 13.39 $ CAD
155499	131	HAND-PENNED 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER	$11.50 USD | 15.75 $ CAD $9.78 USD | 13.39 $ CAD
152494	132	IN GOOD TASTE 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER	$21.00 USD | 29.00 $ CAD $17.85 USD | 24.65 $ CAD
155817	132	IN THE WILD 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER	$11.50 USD | 15.75 $ CAD $9.78 USD | 13.39 $ CAD
155807	132	PANSY PETALS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER	$11.50 USD | 15.75 $ CAD $9.78 USD | 13.39 $ CAD
155605	133	SWEET SYMMETRY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER	$11.50 USD | 15.75 $ CAD $9.78 USD | 13.39 $ CAD
155718	133	TIDINGS OF CHRISTMAS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER	$11.50 USD | 15.75 $ CAD $9.78 USD | 13.39 $ CAD
155686	134	YOU’RE A PEACH 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER	$11.50 USD | 15.75 $ CAD $9.78 USD | 13.39 $ CAD

Designer Series Paper Sale

I hope enjoyed some "In Symmetry" inspiration! This is a fun bundle and I'm so glad I added it to my stash. 

Have a great weekend and Happy 4th of July!

Sarah

What's Cookin' ??

Hey Stampers!

How's your summer going so far? Are you "cookin' " in all this heat? That pun was intended as I have something "cooked" up for you today with a fun new bundle called "What's Cookin' " Even if you aren't the most spectacular chef that you know, you will have fun with this fun set of stamps and dies with a tasty cooking theme. Here's the card we made in a recent card class with this bundle:

I thought this muted color scheme was great for a guy or a gal that love to play in the kitchen as their form of relaxation and creativity.  For this card, we used a combination of the stamps and dies to create all the pieces and kept it pretty simple with a black/white buffalo check background (Did you SEE that one of the Hostess redemptions in the Annual Catalog is a HUGE pack of paper? That's where this paper came from.)  We added some color with a Real Red mixing bowl and some Soft Succulent measuring cups. 

Here's a peak at the bundle so you can see all the goodies included. Note that the stamps are the "Distinktive" style so you get an even richer texture when you stamp!

I have some other ideas "cookin" on the back burner with this set so I'll be back in the future with more inspiration for you.  Meanwhile, I have houseguests coming tonight so I've got some "cookin' " in my future!

Until next time,

Sarah