Monday, September 3, 2012

Free Ribbon!

Stampin' Up! has a great promotion going on during September. For every $40 you spend (before shipping and tax) you will get to choose a FREE spool of our 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon. This ribbon is wonderful and come in Midnight Muse, Gumball Green, Summer Starfruit, Primrose Petals, and Raspberry Ripple. What a great way to stock up on some of our newest In-Color ribbon. Head on over to my Stampin' Up! website to place your order or contact me today and I can place it for you.

Also, you MUST watch this video :) If nothing else it's good for a little chuckle!


Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

It's been a busy 2 weeks. School is quickly approaching and I've been spending a lot of time in my 1st grade classroom, not only because I'm teaching summer school, but also because I've been unpacking everything that I had to pack at the start of summer - that's a long story for another day though. So tonight I finally took some time and have sat and just relaxed and was looking through some challenge sites for some inspiration - thinking I might actually get back in to my stamp room for a bit tonight - when I came across this post over at Inspired by Stamping where this card was in the top 3! I didn't even know!! That totally made my day :)






Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Today is August 1st!!!

Today is August 1st! This is significant for many reasons. Not only is it the last month of summer before returning to school (or in 22 days in my case) or the start of the month of my birthday but it's also the first day of the new Holiday Catalog! There are so many great things in this new catalog many of which have made my "wish list". This catalog is much bigger than the usual mini catalogs. There are some new Framelits dies that coordinate with new stamp sets, there's new scented embossing powders, there's a new silicone workmat which is perfect for hot gluing  elements together and much more! Check it out!


Today also is exciting for another reason! It kicks off the release of My Digital Studio 2 (MDS2) and also the 31 Days of Savings Promotion. In the month of August, you can receive 31% off of 31 digital content options.

All photo books, cards, individual pages, and tags are on sale now! 

 Head on over to my Stampin' Up! website and check out these great new products and these wonderful money saving deals! It's never been easier to get caught up on scrapping all those digital photos you have!

Please contact me if you have any questions or would like to place an order.
Happy Stamping!
~Randi
 

Sunday, July 29, 2012

A Reason to Smile - 2 More Days

While I was checking out some blogs last week I happened upon another weekly stamping challenge blog. Inspired by Stamping had a great inspiration/color challenge this week. The colors were peach, blue, and yellow. When a Stampin' Up! color retires I still keep it because you never know when it will come in handy or if it will come back again (Baja Breeze, Wild Wasabi, Rich Razzleberry anyone?) Even though Peach Parfait is a retired color now, I knew it would be the perfect color to use for this challenge - I had even contemplated using Apricot Appeal, a color that retired a few years ago- but thought it would be too light for what I wanted to do.

Paper: Baja Breeze, Whisper White
Ink: Peach Parfait, So Saffron, Baja Breeze
Stamps: Baroque Motif, A Reason To Smile, Petite Pairs
Accessories: Stamp-a-Ma-Jig, Pool Party Seam Binding

I used the Triple Time Stamping Technique that I've seen around on the web for a few months. I love this technique and you can bet that we'll be doing it at Technique Club sometime in the near future!

Don't forget that there are only 2 more days to take advantage of the Reason To Smile Stamp Set Promotion. You can get this beautiful stamp set for just $5 with an order of $50 before shipping and tax. Check out my side bar for the promotional flier. 

Thanks for stopping by. As always leave some love  in the comments section.

Happy Stamping!
~Randi 


Tic Tac Toe... Three in a row

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE  the colors green and pink. They were the colors I had my mom paint my room after college, I tried to get my hubby to go along with them for wedding colors, and I have received many pink and green colored gifts from co-workers. I just Love them! The challenge this week at The Paper Players is to pick three things in Tic Tac Toe fashion from their game board and incorporate those things in to your card.
For this card I incorporated circles, birthday, and my favorite colors. I used a base of Gumball Green card stock  (I just LOVE this green!). I cut circles out of the Floral District DSP using the 1" Circle Punch. I adhered the circles using Tombo Mono Multi Glue. I then tide some 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon in Gumball Green around the middlish of the card. I used the Scallop Circle Punch to punch out a Rose Red scallop. I used the same Scallop Circle Punch to punch out a piece of Gumball Green card stock and then adhered it to a sticky note and turned my punch just a little bit so that it would line up in the middle of each scallop. I then punched it again to give it those fun pointy edges. I stamped the cake and banner images from the Make a Cake stamp set using Baja Breeze and Daffodil Delight ink. I then used some Rose Red ink to stamp the happy birthday from Made for You over the cake and banner. I used the 1 3/8" Circle Punch to punch out that image and layered it using a Stampin' Dimensional on the scallop circles.

Here's the link to The Paper Players Tic Tac Toe gameboard for the challenge.

Thanks for stopping by to look. You can buy everything you need to create a fun card just like this at my Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Site. Don't forget to leave a comment :)

Happy Stamping!
~Randi

Espresso Crumb Cake

This week's Dynamic Duos challenge proved to be a little difficult for me. I love how neutral Crumb Cake can be and it can be paired with many colors. This week the DD challenge was to use Crumb Cake with Early Espresso which made it a monochromatic color challenge. I don't usually do well with these kinds of challenges so I pushed myself to try it.
I used a base of Crumb Cake card stock which I embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots Folder. I then used a Stamping Sponge inked with Early Espresso Ink to edge the front of my card. I cut a strip of DSP from a retired DSP pack (I'm sorry the name escapes me right now) and cut the end into a banner tail. I cut a strip of Crumb Cake card stock and also trimmed the banner tail end on it. I used the Signo White Gel Pen to add some detail to this piece. I stamped the happy birthday from Made for You Stamp Set in Versamark Ink and embossed it with White Embossing Powder and then used the Bitty Banners Framelits die to cut it out. I edged that with Early Espresso Ink using a Stamping Sponge. I stamped an image from the Apothecary Art Stamp Set in Early Espresso Ink  and then cut it out using the Labels Collection Framelits. I adhered everything to the card using Snail Adhesive.


Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to hear from you so please leave a comment.

Happy Stamping!
~Randi 

Hmmmm....

Have you ever made a card and had this great idea in your head when you started and then you finish it and just feel like it needs something? That's how I felt last night when I made this card for the Freshly Made Sketch challenge. Their challenge was great, I had some great ideas when I started and then when I sat back to look at it I just felt like it was missing something but I just didn't know what....

Maybe I should have embossed the Cajun Craze piece of paper? Maybe I should have done some tone on tone stamping on it? I just don't know. I do like how my stamped sentiment piece turned out though.

Paper: Cajun Craze, Floral District DSP, Whisper White
Ink: Wild Wassabi, Daffodil Delight, Cajun Craze
Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers
Accessories: Big Shot, Labels Collection Framelits, Signo White Gel Pen, Whisper White 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon

Here's a link to the Freshly Made Sketch for this week.
Thanks for stopping by! You can buy supplies for this card here. Leave me a comment if you have an idea of what my card is missing. I would love to hear from you!

Happy Stamping!
~Randi

Christmas in July

It's been so hot here lately that it's got me thinking about cooler times - like winter - which lead me to think about Christmas. It just so happens that the Friday Mashup this week was to make a card for Christmas or to make a card and decorate the inside or mash the two of those together and make a Christmas card and decorate the inside which is exactly what I did!

I used a base of Always Artichoke card stock and layered some  Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper on top of that. I used the Adorning Edgelets  and  Adorning Accents Embossing Folders  on the Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla  piece of DSP. I then tied on some ivory colored lace trim that I had. I then used the Bells and Boughs Stamp Set with some Staz-on Black Ink to stamp the bell and merry Christmas on a piece of Very Vanilla Card Stock. I used a Blender Pen and my ink pads in Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler, and More Mustard to color in the image. I then layered that on some Cherry Cobbler card stock and then on to some Always Artichoke Card Stock.

For the inside of the card I used some Cherry Cobbler card stock  to mat a piece of Very Vanilla card stock. Again, I used the  Adorning Edgelets  and  Adorning Accents Embossing Folders  on the Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla  piece of DSP. I also layered a small strip of DSP from the Deck the Halls DSP on to that for a little more detail and color. 

Here is a link to the challenge over at Friday Mashup. 
I hope you enjoyed my card. Thanks for stopping by to take a peek. Please remember to leave a comment!

Happy Stamping!

~Randi

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Hoop La La.....

As soon as I saw the Hoop La La stamp set in the new Idea Book and Catalog I knew I had to have it! I just love the cute little cross stitched images. I decided to finally use it today on this card for the Freshly Made Challenge for this week.
For this card I used a base of Crumb Cake card stock. I cut another slightly smaller piece of Crumb Cake card stock and used Crumb Cake Ink along with the In Stitches Jumbo Wheel to create the background. Then I used a piece of Stamping Sponge and the Crumb Cake Ink to ink around the edges of this piece and attached it to the card base. I used the hoop image from Hoop La La and stamped that on Whisper White that I cut out by hand using my Paper Snips. I then used the flower image and inked most of it up with my Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker, stamped off once, and then colored a few of the "x" with my Rich Razzleberry Stampin' Write Marker to make it look like some of the cross stitches had already been stitched. I had seen this on another card - unfortunately I can't remember where I saw it... If it was you let me know and I'll give you credit for it - and thought that it was a way super cute idea. I huffed (or breathed heavily) on the stamp to re-moisten the ink and then stamped it in the middle of my hoop image. I used my Basic Black and Rich Razzleberry Stampin' Write Markers to ink up the needle and thread stamp and put those on the hoop image as well. I cut circles out using the  Circle #2 Originals Die using Whisper White card stock and also a Rich Razzleberry piece of DSP from the Floral District DSP pack. I layered the circles together and adhered them to the card front. Before I stuck the larger circle on the card I pierced it using the new Essentials Paper Piercing Pack. I took a piece of Rich Razzleberry Satin Ribbon, tied it in the middle with  a piece of Linen Thread and then cut the edges in to "fish tails". I used the thank you image from the Itty Bitty Banners Stamp Set  inked up in Rich Razzleberry Ink to create the sentiment for the front of the card. I cut that out using the Big Shot and the Bitty Banners Framelits die and stuck that in the center of my ribbon.

Thank you for dropping by to check out my card. Don't forget to leave a comment! :)

Happy Stamping!
~Randi

A Reason To Smile....

Today I played with the sketch challenge from Pals Paper Arts.


I liked the simple layout of this card. For the base I used Raspberry Ripple card stock. I layered two patterns from the Floral District DSP pack. On the Daffodil Delight color I used the Chevron Embossing Folder to give it a little bit of texture. I then took a piece of Stamping Sponge and inked it up using Crumb Cake Ink to distress it a little to make the chevron pattern show up a little bit better. For the main image I used the Reason To Smile stamp set and stamped it in Stazon Black Ink. Then with an Aqua Painter, I water colored the flowers using Raspberry Ripple, Calypso Coral, Primrose Petals, and Daffodil Delight ink. I used the Made for You stamp for the sentiment in the middle of the flowers. I also used the smaller flower from Reason to Smile for the little accent flowers. Finally I used the all new Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack to paper pierce a line across the bottom.
Thanks for stopping by to check out my card. Please don't forget to leave a comment.

Happy Stamping!
~Randi

Mojo Monday #250

I finally got around to playing in this weeks Mojo Monday challenge.
My card ended up a little busier than I had planned it to. I used Summer Starfruit card stock for the base of my card. I built the rest of my layers on Whisper White. The patterned papers on my card are all from the Patio Party DSP pack. I used the Make a Cake stamp set to create the cake with the fun banners. I also used the Itty Bitty Banners stamp set and the Bitty Banners Framelits die to create the happy birthday sentiment. I used the Circles #2 Originals die to cut the two white circles and the 1 3/4" Circle Punch to make the circles. I used the Uni-Ball Signo White Gel Pen to add a few finishing touches on the long banner and on the flower punch boarder around my cake image.
Thanks for stopping by to take a peek at my card. Please remember to leave a comment! :)

Happy Stamping!
~Randi

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Freshly Made #43

Today I played along with the Freshly Made Sketch Challenge. Here is what the challenge looked like...
I love using a sketch challenge because they are half way done for you already. You don't have to figure out what they layout of your card is going to look like just what kind of paper, embellishments, stamps, and ink you're going to use. Here's my version of the above sketch card...
Paper: Baja Breeze, Primrose Petals, Whisper White, Summer Starfruit, Patio Party DSP
Ink: Baja Breeze, Primrose Petals, Summer Starfruit, Midnight Muse
Stamps: Send me Soaring
Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots Folder

I've been wanting to use this stamp set for a while now. So glad I chose it for this card. I just love it!
Thanks for stopping by to take a peek. Please leave a comment :)

Happy Stamping!
~Randi

The Paper Players 103


Yesterday I got a chance to play along with The Paper Players color challenge. I loved these bright fun colors together.

 Here is the card that I made to go with the challenge. I didn't realize it until I had already uploaded it that I had messed up on my own card! I had originally meant to do two Calypso Coral flowers and one Daffodil Delight flower. Oh well! I guess my subconscious decided that they should all be Calypso Coral ha ha!

Paper: Lucky Limeade, Whisper White, Floral District DSP
Ink: Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, Versamark
Stamps: Reason to Smile, Made For You
Accessories; White Embossing Powder, Heat Tool

Thanks for stopping by to take a look and don't forget to leave a comment :)

Happy Stamping!
~Randi

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

HSS Theme Challenge # 126

Here is a card that I made for the Hand Stamped Sentiments Theme Challenge this week. The theme was to make a "fruity" card. I thought that either the watermelon or the cherry image from the Mouthwatering stamp set would be perfect for this challenge.

I decided to go with the cherry image since I had already seen a few people use the watermelon. I also liked that I could add buttons to my card with that stamp. I have all these buttons in my embellishment drawer but always forget to use them! Does anyone else have that problem? Anyway here's my card..
Paper:  Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Tart and Tangy DSP (retired) Cherry Cobbler
Ink: Gumball Green, Cherry Cobbler
Stamps: Mouthwatering, Made for You
Accessories: Cherry Cobbler Buttons, Linen Thread, 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon in Gumball Green, Corner Rounder Punch 

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek at my card. Please remember to leave a comment! 

Happy Stamping!
~Randi

Dynamic Duo Challenge #10

I caught the Dynamic Duos challenge at just the right time this week so that I was able to play along. Last week I caught it Thursday afternoon and was too late to play during the challenge. I was so excited to see these two colors together. I haven't used a lot of Rich Razzleberry lately  since I had used it so much last summer making my wedding invitations and all the other things I made for the wedding. Here is the duo for this week...
Here is my Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive card....
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Whisper White, Floral District DSP
Stamps: Fresh Vintage (retired)
Accessories: Rich Razzleberry 5/8" Satin Ribbon, Fancy Fan Folder, Labels Collection Framelets

Thanks for stopping by to take a look. Don't forget to leave a comment! :) 

Happy Stamping!
~Randi  


Mojo Monday 249

This week's Mojo Monday challenge had me thinking for a while. I wanted to use some of my new DSP that I got from the new catalog but didn't want to do another cake card. I really wanted to use the cupcake patterned paper so I bit the bullet and paired it with the Carry On stamp set from the new catalog. I just love that set and am having a hard time not using it more (reasoning behind that is a total other story). Anyway here is the sketch ...
And here is my card....

Ink: Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit, Primrose Petals
Paper: Midnight Muse, Primrose Petals, Whisper White, Patio Party 
Stamps: Carry On, Make A Cake
Accessories: Rhinestone Basic Jewels

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek. Don't forget to leave a comment! 

Happy Stamping!
~Randi 

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Colour Q #144

Here's my final card that I made this weekend while working on some challenges. This one is for the Colour Q challenge. Here was the inspiration piece we were supposed to use...
...and here is the card that I created using these colors...
Ink: Night of Navy, Calypso Coral, Poppy Parade (retired), Brocade Blue (retired)
Paper: Whisper White, Brocade Blue
Stamps: Pennant Parade
Accessories: Chevron Folder, Bakers Twine in Calypso Coral, Petite Pennant Punch

... it's a pretty simple card however I liked the empty space. I toyed around with the idea of doing another sentiment on the front of the card but I think that the wish big in the pennant flag says it all. I also loved this color challenge because I got to pull out a recently retired color, Poppy Parade, and a really old color, Brocade Blue. I don't think I ever would have put Calypso Coral with Night of Navy or Poppy Parade but I think it works lovely with both colors. Love it!

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek and don't forget to leave a comment!

Happy Stamping!
~Randi

Freshly Made #42

Today I decided to play around with the Freshly Made Sketches challenge. Here is the sketch for this week.

I like how simple the sketch looks but with some patterned paper and some ribbon and stamps you could dress it up or down as much as you wanted. Here is my take on the sketch:

Ink: Lucky Limeade, Crumb Cake
Paper: Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Floral District DSP
Stamps: Mouthwatering
Accessories: Bakers Twine in Lucky Limeade 


I love this card! I think everything about it says summer from the bright colors, to the lightweight bakers twine, to the Popsicle! Thanks for stopping by to take a peek. Don't forget to leave a comment! :)

~Randi

PPA #138

Another challenge that I worked on this weekend was the Pals Paper Arts challenge.
I was a little worried about this color challenge as I wanted to use current stamps - of which my stock of has dwindled since the retired list came out in May. I decided to use the Reason To Smile stamp set which is out on promotion right now (Check my sidebar for details on that). Here is my card:

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobler
Paper: Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Whisper White
Stamps: Reason To Smile, Apothecary Art
Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots Folder, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon in Daffodil Delight

Thanks for stopping by to take a look at my card. Don't forget to leave a comment.

Happy Stamping!
~Randi

Mojo Monday #248

Here is another card that I worked on for a challenge this weekend. This is for the Mojo Monday 248 sketch challenge. Here is the sketch that we had to follow or use for inspiration:


Here is my card that I created using the sketch:
Paper: Summer Starfruit, Whisper White, Primrose Petals, Patio Party DSP
Ink: Primrose Petals, Baja Breeze, Summer Starfruit, Midnight Muse
Stamps: Itty Bitty Banners, Make a Cake
Accessories: 1/4" white grosgrain ribbon, white gel pen, Bitty Banners Framelits, Scallop Edge Punch, Corner Rounder, Labels Collection Framelits, Perfect Polka Dots Folder

Thanks for taking a peek at my card. Don't forget to leave a comment.
Happy stamping!

~Randi

Friday Mashup Challenge

Lately I have been trying to get inspired in different ways than usual. It seems as though my mojo just hasn't been around unless I have something to help focus my creativity on. I decided to check in to some of the challenges that I have seen some other bloggers talk about. This is the first weekly stamp challenge that I have done (other than the Splitcoast VSN challenges).



Here is the card I made for the Friday Mashup Challenge 66:

Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Wild Wasabi, Daffodil Delight
Ink: Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black, Real Red, Wild Wasabi
Stamps: Circle Circus, Itty Bitty Banners
Accessories: Chevron Embossing Folder, Bitty Banners Framelits, 1/2" scallop dots ribbon in Basic Black, various circle punches

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment.

Happy Stamping!
~Randi