Stamp for Fun

Devastation in Chile

Griet — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:47:34 +0000

Last time I posted in this category it was for the earthquake in Haiti. Now the earthquake in Chile has the world’s attention with an 8.8 magnitude! I’m not sure the impact compared to Haiti, but obviously the people of Chile need our prayers and support as well. Here are a few ways you can donate by texting (this worked really well for the Haiti cause). Also, I encourage you to find other ways to help- I was able to donate my Hilton points (which I would never use anyway) to the Haiti fund.

For these text donations AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile have agreed to waive the texting fee. If you use a different service, contact your provider to see if they might do the same.

Text the word “CHILE” to 25383 to donate $10 on behalf of the Habitat for Humanity.
Text the word “CHILE” to 20222 to donate $10 on behalf of World Vision.
Text the word “CHILE” to 52000 to donate $10 on behalf of the Salvation Army.
Text the word “CHILE” to 90999 to donate $10 on behalf of the American Red Cross.

After texting the code be sure to hit “yes” to confirm the donation. The $10 donation will appear on your next cell phone bill.

Update: I got a comment back that the information on the American Red Cross is not correct. I guess I can’t trust my sources (I thought it was quite reputable). See the comment if you want to know more.

Hit the Nail on the Head!

Griet — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 03:12:45 +0000

On Tuesday my daughter was sick so she was home with me. As I was making the beds, and she was following me around (she wasn’t feeling THAT bad anymore), she says to me…

“Mama, do you know why I haven’t been working on many projects lately?”

Now… she’s 5!

So I reply, “No, Baby, why?”

“Because I’ve been watching the Olympics.”

Ding-Ding-Ding. She hit the nail on the head, 100%.

So where have I been, where are my posts… I’m watching the Olympics. I’ll have more to post soon. In the meantime, GO USA!

Clover Card

Griet — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:49:57 +0000

I’m not sure what to call this shape, I’m sure there’s a special name for it, but I’m going to call it a clover card. I created my own template with it and I’ll be posting it on a templates page soon. I made a “permanent” template by cutting it out of stencil plastic that I bought at a local craft store.

Here’s what the template looks like cut out of white cardstock.

I made my card by cutting it out of colored cardstock. On the front I added some design paper of alternating patterns to give it an interesting look. Then added a small message. You might notice that 90% of my cards are for birthdays, and that’s because I need all those for my family and friends!

Certainly Celery cardstock, Pumpkin Pie classic ink, Kaleidoscope designer series paper, Birthday Whimsy stamp set.

On the inside I used more paper from the Kaleidoscope designer series and then stamped a message with the Whimsical Words stamp set. I’m considering this design to use for my Mother’s Day cards this year.

Oh, and my kids let me know… this shape… it’s called a quatrefoil!

Round & Scalloped Shaped Cards

Griet — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:21:08 +0000

One of the simplest designs that I like from the show was the circle shaped and scalloped shaped cards. For whatever reason I’ve never tried these before. They are simple, just punch out your card leaving a little edge out of the die template so that you have a spine for the card. Here are two that I made today.

Pink Passion cardstock; Tempting Turquoise classic ink and cardstock; Kaleidoscope designer series paper; Always and One of a Kind stamp sets.

Certainly Celery cardstock, Tempting Turquoise cardstock and classic ink; Flock Together designer series paper; Whimsical Words stamp set.

Gathering New Ideas

Griet — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 23:12:04 +0000

This weekend I spent many hours at a local stamping convention, mostly to gather new ideas. While there were many products I loved, none really compared to how coordinated Stampin’ Up’s collection is. The best part of all was checking out the cards and the techniques. I’ve come home each day and worked on templates for the things I like and want to share with you. I’m still working on them so I have no projects to post, but I plan to start posting them soon. Hope you come back to see what neat new ideas I have to share. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Holiday Treat Jar

Griet — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:54:22 +0000

For Christmas my Secret Sister gave me a holiday treat jar. It’s so simple and so cute; I love it so much that I wanted to share it with you. I can’t give credit where credit is due- not until December, for now she’s just “my Secret Sister”.

This can be used for most any holiday. I’ve “stolen” the idea and made it into a Valentine Treat Jar. This would be a great gift for your husband, friend, kids, or co-worker. It’s simple- a jar, some tissue paper, candy (don’t fill it up), toile ribbon, and holiday themed ribbon. Here’s mine! And I’m going to make little ones in Mason jars for the kids!

The Easel Card

Griet — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:03:27 +0000

I love the easel card and have been making them left and right! It’s just as simple as your standard card, but so cute for display. I’ve made 2 different size cards, one 4″ x 4″ and one 3.5″ x 3.5″.

The closed card is square shaped. Once it’s opened, the face of the card can be tilted down and placed on a shelf to show for display.

The front of the card.

The open card on display.

Displayed card from the side.

Card opened, side view.

The 4″ x 4″ card is made with the following:
A- 4″ x 8″ basecard, scored at 2″ and 4″
B- 4″ x 4″ facecard

With one sheet of 12″ x 12″ paper you can get 3 easel cards.

Decorate you facecard (A) as you desire, I use a slightly smaller card size (3.75″ x 3.75″) so that the edges of the facecard can be used as a frame for the design.

Fold the basecard (B) at the 4″ score line (this folds the card in half). With the fold at the top and 2″ score line in the front, place adhesive on the bottom half of the card (opening edge, up to the 2″ score line). Attach the facecard to the basecard. On the inside of the card use a brad, embellishment, or cut out for the stop to the hold the facecard when on display. Folding the front at the 2″ score line tilts the facecard. You can choose to decorate the inside of the card, or just use it for your personal message.

Only orange cardstock; Kaleidoscope designer series paper, Birthday Whimsy stamp set.

The 3.5″ x 3.5″ card is made with the following:
A- 3.5″ x 7″ basecard, scored at 1.75″ and 3.5″
B- 3.5″ x 3.5″ facecard

I tried this size because I can get 2 cards out of a 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of cardstock.

This card was made with some of the design paper I made myself (see previous post).

Orchid Opulence cardstock; Turquoise ribbon; Whimsical Words stamp set.

Pixie Pink cardstock; Kaleidoscope designer series paper; Whimsical Words and Always stamp sets.

Simple Cards for the Kid’s

Griet — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:39:54 +0000

My kids are 5 and 7. They will go and play all day, but when I work on my cards or scrapbooks, or any such project in my craft area, my kids follow me like lost puppies and want to join right in.

This particular project is great for a variety of occasions, I first had my kids make Christmas cards for the grandparents.

I found stencil sets (6 per book) at Amazon.com (you will find I am a HUGE Amazon fan) from Dover Little Activity Books, each one is $1.50 (and if you buy 3 the 4th is free). The stencils are made out of sturdy paper and they have a wide selection- we personally own 2 Christmas books, dinosaurs, and fairies.

I use white paper the size of a card, have then trace the stencil on the “front,” then color it.

For Christmas they used colored glitter glue to decorate the traced designs. Whatever they use, it makes a cute card, it’s easy enough, and it keeps them entertained for quite some time. On top of that- it’s inexpensive and the grandmothers will LOVE IT! What more could you ask for?

Using Handmade Designer Paper for Cards

Griet — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:49:02 +0000

On my last post, a video, I showed you how easy it is to make your own designer paper. I promised that I would also show you what I had in plan for that paper. I’ve used the paper for what is referred to as a “One Sheet Wonder.” Basically you use one sheet of paper to make a set of coordinating cards, I’ve seen anywhere from 6 to 10 cards- I used my paper to make 7 cards.

Cut the 8.5″ x 11″ paper into fourths and then into different shapes and sizes to use for making your cards.

Using coordinating ink, paper, and a few embellishments you can create a set of coordinating cards. These make great gifts too!

Tempting Turquoise cardstock and classic ink; Orchid Opulence cardstock and classic ink; Pixie Pink cardstock and classic ink; Whisper White cardstock; Versa-Mark; Always and One of a Kind stamp sets.

Tempting Turquoise cardstock and classic ink; Pixie Pink cardstock and classic ink; Orchid Opulence cardstock and classic ink; Whisper White cardstock; Turquoise ribbon; Versa-Mark; One of a Kind and Whimsical Words stamp sets.

Green Galore cardstock and classic ink; Orchid Opulence cardstock and classic ink; Pixie Pink cardstock; Whisper White cardstock; Always and Whimsical Words stamp sets.

Orchid Opulence cardstock and classic ink; Tempting Turquoise and Green Galore classic ink; Whisper White cardstock; One of a Kind and Whimsical Words stamp sets.

Creating Your Own Designer Paper

Griet — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 02:03:08 +0000

I love to work with designer paper, the only problem is that it’s not always easy finding paper that coordinates with the paper and ink I already have (if only I had them all!). The current Stampin’ Up catalog makes this easier by listing the exact colors used in their paper assortments, but I want to show you how you can create your own designer paper.

Click here to view the embedded video.