A Beautiful Thing

These are a few simple cards I made using the stamp set “A Beautiful Thing”. They are all very similar, especially the three which use the same layout but a different color combination. I think I need to come up with more variety when using this stamp set! :)

Faux Silk technique- tutorial by Beate Johns
Stamp sets: A Beautiful Thing, Background Basics
Paper: Almost Amethyst, Whisper White CS, white tissue paper
Ink: Almost Amethyst, Lavender Lace, Basic Black classic ink
Accessories: 1/8” circle punch, photo corner punch, Stampin’ dimensional, SNAIL adhesive, scissors, paper cutter, Whisper White grosgrain ribbon, Rhinestone brads- Ice circles

Scratch N Sniff technique
Stamp sets: A Beautiful Thing
Paper: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White CS
Ink: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Purely Pomegranate classic ink
Accessories: SNAIL adhesive, scissors, paper cutter, sponge, Purely Pomegranate double stitched grosgrain ribbon, half pearl from Pretties Kit, Kool Aid drink mix- cherry

Stamp sets: A Beautiful Thing, Elegant Greetings
Paper: Whisper White CS, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink textured CS
Ink: Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink classic ink

Accessories: 1/8” circle punch, Stampin’ dimensional, SNAIL adhesive, scissors, paper cutter, Rhinestone brads- Ice circlesStamp sets: A Beautiful Thing, Elegant Greetings
Paper: Whisper White, Almost Amethyst, Lavender Lace CS
Ink: Almost Amethyst, Lavender Lace classic ink

Accessories: 1/8” circle punch, Stampin’ dimensional, SNAIL adhesive, scissors, paper cutter, Rhinestone brads- Ice circlesStamp sets: A Beautiful Thing, Elegant Greetings
Paper: Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise CS
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Taken with Teal, Basic Black classic ink

Accessories: 1/8” circle punch, Stampin’ dimensional, SNAIL adhesive, scissors, paper cutter, Rhinestone brads- Ice circles

Have fun stampin' and creatin'!

Father's Day Stamp Class Projects

These are the projects we created in my May stamp class. I designed the projects so they could be given as Father’s Day gifts, but they are versatile enough to be used for any occasion really. Especially the projects which are more generic, such as the pull treat and Post-It note holder.

Swing card, Post It note holder, Pull treat

Swing card- by Michelle Hoffman
Tutorial by Beate Johns
Stamp set: For Father, Lovely As A Tree (leaf), Thinking of Father (sentiment), Weathered background stamp
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke, Not Quite Navy CS, Watercolor paper
Ink: Black StazOn, Watercolor Wonder Crayons- Earth Elements, Neautrals, Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker
Accessories: Blender pens, Crop-A-Dile, SNAIL adhesive, scissors, paper cutter, Always Artichoke grosgrain ribbon, Rich Regals eyelets- Always Artichoke, sponge, spray bottle

Other side of the swing part.

Watercolored image

For those of you interested in the technique I used for the background of this image, read on.
After I had stamped and colored the main image, I simply sprayed a tiny bit of water on a stamping sponge, then colored the wet spot with a Close to Cocoa watercolor crayon. I blotted the sponge on scrap paper once, then applied it to the watercolor paper. I blotted the color onto the paper, rewetting the sponge when needed. Then, before it was dry, I went back and smeared the blots, creating the effect you see. This works beautifully on watercolor paper. I’m not sure how it would look on regular card stock. If you do attempt it on regular card stock, I’d love to hear how it worked for you.

After the background was dry, I stamped the Father’s Day greeting, using a Basic Black Stampin’ marker. Be sure to stamp the greeting AFTER the background technique, otherwise it will smear. You may be able to use StazOn ink for the greeting to avoid smearing if you prefer to stamp the greeting before doing the background technique.

Pull treat- Designed by Michelle Hoffman
Tutorial by Beate Johns
Stamp set: Seeing Spots
Paper: Going Gray, Brilliant Blue, Whisper White 8.5 x 11” CS
Ink: Only Orange, Brilliant Blue, Wild Wasabi Classic Ink
Accessories: Hershey chocolate bar, slot punch, 1” circle punch, stampin’ dimensionals, sticky strip, SNAIL adhesive, scissors, paper cutter, Pumpkin Pie grosgrain ribbon

Post It Note Holder- by Michelle Hoffman
Stamp set: For Father
Paper: Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip 8.5 x 11” CS, Wild Wasabi Prints DSP, watercolor paper
Ink: Black StazOn, Watercolor Wonder crayons- Earth Elements, Neutrals
Accessories: Blender pen, 1/8” circle punch, SNAIL adhesive, scissors, paper cutter, silver elastic cord, Post It note holders

I don’t have a tutorial for this holder, but I plan to create one. If you’re interested in seeing a tutorial for this project, please post in the comment section.

Have fun stampin’ and creatin’!

Mini Accordion Album

This is a mini accordion album we created in my stamp class last month. The butterfly is two dimensional but it didn’t show up very well in this picture.

To create this 9 page album, I used one 12 x 12 sheet of card stock. Cut a line along the length of the paper at 3 3/4”, 7 1/2” and 11 1/4”. Discard the left over narrow strip. Turn your strip horizontally and score at 3 3/4”, 7 1/2” and 11 1/4”. Score the other two strips identical to the first. Take one of the strips, and cut off the 3/4” portion at the bottom and discard it. Do not cut off this portion on the other two strips. Apply adhesive to the two 3/4” portions. Attach one strip at the 3/4” portion to the first square on the second strip. Then attach the second strip at the 3/4” portion to the first square on the third strip. Fold all 9 squares accordion style on the score lines. You now have the base for your album!

For the front cover, I cut a piece of Groovy Guava 3 1/2” x 3 1/2”, then a piece of Afternoon Tea DSP 3 1/4” x 3 1/4”. I stamped the butterfly from Garden Whimsy twice, and cut both out. I attached one butterfly cut out to the CS layers, using dimensionals. I made a score line in the middle of my second butterfly, folded the left side, then adhered the right side to the first butterfly. To get a 3-D effect, you will want to cut out a total of 3 butterflies and attach them accordingly. Then, I applied Crystal Effects randomly on the top butterfly, creating raised dots for dimension.

For the ribbon, I cut 19” of Wild Wasbai double stitched grosgrain ribbon. To add the ribbon to the album, I turned the completed accordion album over so the back was facing up. I laid the ribbon on the back (which was facing up), then turned the album over and tied the ribbon into a bow at the front. I did this first so I could position the bow where I wanted before it was permanently in place. Then I turned the album over again with the back facing up. I slid the ribbon up just slightly so I could add SNAIL adhesive, then moved the ribbon back into place, adhering it.

Pages 2 and 3

Pages 4 and 5

Pages 6 and 7

Pages 8 and 9

For the inside pages, each layer of CS is 3 1/2” x 3 1/2”. The rest is self explanatory, but if you have any questions, please post your questions in the comment area of this post.

Stamp set: Garden Whimsy, Warm Words, It’s All Good
Paper: Afternoon Tea Designer Series Paper, Whisper White 12 x 12’, Groovy Guava, Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White 8.5 x 11” CS
Ink: Groovy Guava, Close to Cocoa, Wild Wasabi Classic Ink
Accessories: Photo corner punch, 1/8”, 1 1/4”, 1 3/4” circle punches, scallop circle punch, tag corner punch, stampin’ dimensionals, Crystal Effects, SNAIL adhesive, scissors, sticky strip, paper cutter, double stitched ribbon- Wild Wasabi, Groovy Guava, button, mini envelope template

Afternoon Tea Coaster Box

This is my first coaster box. I’ve wanted to make one for several months and finally found the time to create one. I bought the chipboard coasters online at http://www.eclecticpaperie.com/. I adhered “Afternoon Tea” Designer Series Paper from the Occasions mini catalog onto both sides of 5 coasters. I applied a thin coat of ModPodge overtop of the paper to protect it from moisture and oils. Using the crop-a-dile tool, I punched five holes along two sides of 4 coasters, leaving the 5th coaster intact. The 5th coaster is for the bottom of the box and does not require holes in it. Once I had punched all the holes, I took an 18” length of ribbon and laced it through the holes of 2 coasters lying side by side. I repeated this step until all 4 coasters were laced together, then using a strong adhesive, I glued the 5th coaster to the bottom of each of the 4 coasters, creating the completed box. If you’d like to see a tutorial on how to create a coaster box, click on this link for the tutorial posted on Splitcoast Stampers by Taylor VanBruggen.

To create the paper flowers, I followed Sharon Field’s directions on her blog, Created By U. For the center flower, I folded a 1 1/4” circle not quite in half. Then I took one end of the folded circle, and rolled it loosely to get the “bud” look. I snipped off a tiny portion of the bottom of the bud to make it flatter so it would lay straighter when I glued it to the rest of the flower. I used a 1 1/4” circle punch to create the leaves by punching a complete circle and then punching only a portion of the original circle to get an oval type shape for the leaf. I used my paper snips to cut slits on both sides of the leaves to create more interest and dimension.

Paper: Afternoon Tea DSP, Ginger Blossom DSP, Wild Wasabi CS
Accessories: Chipboard coasters, ModPodge, glue dots, Crystal Effects, foam brush, bone folder, crop-a-dile, 1 1/4” circle punch, paper trimmer, scissors, double stitched ribbon- River Rock

Have fun stampin' and creatin'!

Ginger Blossom Designer Paper Projects

I love Stampin' Up!'s Designer Series Papers! I especially like "Ginger Blossom" from the Spring-Summer 2008 Collection. Here are a few projects I have created using this beautiful paper.

Altered Album- Designed by Michelle Hoffman
Stamp set: Warm Words, God’s Thoughts
Paper: Ginger Blossom Designer Series Paper, Ruby Red, Pretty in Pink CS
Ink: Ruby Red Classic Ink
Accessories: $1 Target album, ModPodge, foam brush, ruler, bone folder, X-acto knife, 1/2” circle punch, sticky strip, paper trimmer, scissors, double stitched ribbon- Groovy Guava & River Rock

Candle- Designed by Michelle Hoffman
Paper: Ginger Blossom Designer Series Paper
Ink: Pretty in Pink re-inker

Accessories: Fabric flowers from Pretties Kit, Pillar candle, sticky strip, paper trimmer, scissors

Desktop Calendar- Created by Michelle Hoffman
Stamp set: Simply Said
Paper: Ginger Blossom Designer Series Paper, Ruby Red, River Rock CS
Ink: Groovy Guava, Cameo Coral, River Rock Classic Ink, Ruby Red Craft Ink
Accessories: 2- 4” square chipboard coasters, Calendar with tear off pages (bought or printed), Corner Rounder punch, Eyelets, Crop-A-Dile, SNAIL adhesive, Sticky Strip, Paper Cutter

Side View

Altered Altoid Tin- Designed by Michelle Hoffman
Stamp set: Embrace Life
Paper: Ginger Blossom Designer Series Paper, Groovy Guava, Wild Wasabi, River Rock CS
Ink: Groovy Guava Classic Ink, Pastels
Accessories: Altoid tin, Half pearl from Pretties Kit, Creamy Caramel Gingham ribbon, Corner Rounder punch, Crystal Effects, SNAIL adhesive, Scissors, Sticky Strip, Paper Cutter

Stampin' Up! May Promotions

Get On Board With Chipboard
Take an extra 25% off Stampin’ Up!’s chipboard products!

For the month of May, when you spend $35 on any Stampin’ Up! products, you’ll get 25% off all On Board chipboard products from pages 178-179 of the Spring-Summer Collection 2008!

Stampin’ Up!’s On Board chipboard collections offer a fun and easy way to embellish projects, create custom greetings, and decorate scrapbook pages. The exclusive, versatile, die-cut chipboard is designed to coordinate with many Stampin’ Up! stamp sets and accessories.
Here is a list of all items that are available this month (discounted price shown):
109181 On Board Blossoms & Basics $11.21
109179 On Board Ginormous Pieces $11.21
107925 On Board Bitty Book $7.46
108495 On Board 5" x 5" Art Journal $5.21
107065 On Board Art Journal (5-3/4" x 8-3/4") $7.13
107307 On Board Accents $9.71
109182 On Board Lots of Letters $9.71
109180 On Board Simon Upper $9.71
107306 On Board Simon Lower $9.71
109192 On Board Clipboard (13" x 7-1/2") $11.96
109190 On Board Clipboard (9" x 9") $5.96
109191 On Board Clipboard (4-1/2" x 9") $4.88
110713 On Board Book Basics Large $5.96
110712 On Board Book Basics Small $4.46

Cutting Combo Pack Special Offer

During the month of May, buy a Cutting Mat and get a Hobby Blade for FREE! Offer expires May 31.

20% Off Starter Kit

For the entire month of May, join Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator and get 20% off the Starter Kit, plus a free tin of qualifying Hodgepodge Hardware from the Spring-Summer Collection 2008 (a $27.95 value)*

The Starter Kit comes complete with all the tools you'll need to start a successful business- $359 worth of stamping and business supplies for only $159!

*Hodgepodge Hardware in the Occasions Mini Collection 2008 is not included in this promotion.

Contact me at stampinmichelleh@aol.com to place your order.