Stampin' Mama: A mama that stamps

Another "no stamping" card.....totally addictive!

I enjoyed making the card in YESTERDAY'S POST using the Ginger Blossom Designer Series paper, so I decided to use another pack of papers that I got recently using the same design.

For this card, I used the new Berry Bliss Designer Series paper. I am SO in love with this paper.

Let me tell you a secret. I have a bunch of retired paper from YEARS ago....because I simply couldn't bear to part with it all. In the past, I would get new paper and just adored looking at it all safe in its packaging. It was just too pretty to take out and use. I couldn't bear to cut into it. Even more frightening was the thought that the paper would retire and I wouldn't be able to get any more later on. THEN what was I going to do??? I'm happy to say that I've grown up over the years......well, maybe not really grown up, but learned to let go more. After all, what fun is growing up? The young at heart definitely have a lot more fun. :)

Everything about this card was CASEd from myself. Speaking of CASEing.....I don't usually CASE anyone. For pretty much the same reason that I don't look at papercrafting magazines when I create. I find that working on my own allows for more creative freedom. Now....that's not to say that CASEing is wrong. It just doesn't work for me. For some people, it gives them more freedom. For me, it inhibits me. We're all different in our approaches to creating. The one thing I DO find myself CASEing is myself, though. I love to try different spin-offs from the creations I've made. I really like to see what a difference paper, colors, inks, embellishments, etc. would make from one card to the next while still using the same design.

That's what I attempted to do with this card. The design concept is the same, the dimensions of all the paper is the same. Even the punches I used for the embellishment are the same. I just switched around the colors of cardstock, the patterned paper and the ribbon color.

Tomorrow will be back to your regularly scheduled stamping program. *wink* I picked up some really cute red and pink take-out boxes that I have big plans for.

Happy Creating!

-Stampin' Mama

Ginger Blossom card.....no stamping required

As hard as it may be for some stampers to understand, for me, getting a new pack of paper is just about as exciting as getting a new set of stamps!

I have to open it right away and look at every piece.....dreaming about the things I can create with it.

There are times when it's nice to step away from the ink and the rubber and just create with paper. I had been working on finishing up a project earlier this morning and knew that I had a class this evening (which I just got home from) and my hands were so full of ink that I needed a little bit of a break and wanted to tear into this new paper. It's been sitting on my desk for about a week and I couldn't take it any longer. I HAD to use it.

This card doesn't require any stamping at all. Just paper, cardstock, a piece of ribbon and a big red brad.
I usually use my dandy dandy little distressing tool from the Cutter Kit when I'm working on a card using just patterned papers. While I think this paper would look lovely with distressed edges, I wanted to go simple, clean lines and quick. I left my edges untouched.

One of the best features of the Designer Series Paper (besides the awesome patterns themselves) is that you get DOUBLE SIDED paper! So much more to choose from with patterns. I love that!

For the embellishment on this card, I punched out one of the flowers on a piece of the paper with the 1 3/8 inch circle punch. I also punched out two scalloped circles with the Scallop punch in River Rock and Groovy Guava cardstock. When I layered them together, I turned them so that the Groovy Guava scallops would be poking out from between the River Rock scallops.

I punched a hole (with my 1/8 inch hole punch) through the middle of the flower image and put a big red brad through it. I mounted this on top of the Vanilla grosgrain ribbon with a pop-dot, to give it a little more dimension.

It's off to bed for me now....I've had a long day.

Happy Creating!

-Stampin' Mama

Quick cards.....no stamping required!

These three cards were offered up on my Groovy Give-Away last Friday, but I wanted to do a separate post to explain a little bit more about these cards and show some detail.

These three little cards are only 3 x 3 inches, but they pack a lot of punch.

I wanted to create a set of cards that were quick to make and also contained no stamping (*gasp*....yes, that's right, I said it.....NO STAMPING....you can all start breathing again now).

It's amazing what you can do when you force yourself to put the stamps down and look around your craft space to see what else you can use create. In this case, I went to the patterned paper and punches.

My little 3 x 3 finished card bases are created with Real Red cardstock.

I am SO glad that I tried out the Cerise Designer Series paper before it becomes permanently retired. I really liked the Au Chocolate paper that Stampin' Up offered last winter and was kind of leery of getting the same kind of patterns in bright red. I held of and finally went for it last month and finally broke the package open last week. Wow, am I glad I did!

When the new catalog arrives, I'm really hoping that there are some new colors in these patterns because it's great to work with in making non-stamped cards.

These little cards were as simple as cutting some cardstock and paper and using some quick punches. Nothing fancy, but the results are clean, simple and very eye catching.

I found that by playing around with positioning my circle punch (I used the 1 1/4 inch circle punch for the smaller circles) over the patterned paper that I could get some really cool punched looks.

This card here uses the same paper for the punch out that I used as the background in the card on the far right in the first photo.

The larger circle was punched out of Very Vanilla cardstock, as it matches the Very Vanilla in the patterned paper. I punched that out with a 1 3/8 inch circle punch.

I adhered the two circles together and then used my 1/16 inch circle punch in the center of the punch out so that I could put a small silver brad through the hole.

The circle/brad accents were mounted on the cards with a pop-dot. I really love to see dimension on my cards. I go through pop-dots like you wouldn't believe. (*note to self - get more pop-dots....you're almost out!*)

This card here uses the same papers as used in the card above, but I reversed them. The punched paper from above got used as the background in this card here. The background from above was punched out for this card here. The cards use the same patterns, but they have a totally different look. And again.....no stamping required!

Enjoy your evening!

Happy Creating!

-Stampin' Mama

Supplies: Cerise Designer Series paper; Real Red and Very Vanilla cardstock; 1 1/4 inch circle punch, 1 3/8 inch circle punch, 1/16 inch hole punch; pop-dots; mini silver brads

Card making without stamping....Simply Scrappin' Kits AGAIN!

I've been playing around with my Winter Bright Simply Scrappin' Kit again. I was thinking of what I could do to create something with either ribbons or paper strips, since I really enjoyed making the birthday cake with ribbons and the Christmas tree with paper strips.

I wanted to use a product that had coordinating ribbons or papers so that I didn't have to dig through every supply I had. That's when it hit me.....the Winter Bright Simply Scrappin' Kit!

See? I told you I think more of these kits than just the need to scrapbook!

And once again, here's a card that didn't even need a stamp or ink. Everything that you see on this card was taken directly from the Simply Scrappin' Kit.

I started by cutting the Wild Wasabi background paper from the kit first and then realized that I made it too big to fit on a traditional sized card. No problem. I just cut a bigger card. Who says that my card has to be a traditional size? But....that also means that I'll have to make my own envelope for it....but that means I can use some of the Designer paper from this kit to line the envelope with....yet ANOTHER use for this awesome kit!

When I put the card together, I realized I totally lucked out by having the blue designer paper cut the way it was. I didn't plan that at all! It has a perfect border of snowflakes around the edges. Dontcha just LOVE when stuff like that happens?

The strips that I used to decorate the tree are from the 12 inch border stickers in the kit. These border stickers are great because they can be used at any length! You can use them on a 12 x 12 page, but you can also cut them down to any length you want so that they will fit on a 6 x 6, 8 x 8, 8.5 x 11 pages, but they also work great as smaller accents on pages AND cards. And don't forget to use the really thin strips in between the big ones. These don't need to go to waste. They make perfect border stickers, as well.

The sticker strips in this kit also have little word stickers of all shapes and sizes so they're perfect for card making. The Christmas tree wasn't going to look right without a trunk ...otherwise it would just end up being a floating decorated green triangle. I used some of the little word stickers to create the trunk, by stacking them on top of each other.

Even the little yellow circle with the red star in it on top of the tree is from the sticker sheet in the kit.

Even though I love cards without stamping......my fingers are starting to itch for ink again.

With all this wintery-stuff and snowflakes......it makes me happy that I'm going to the land of warmth as of tomorrow morning. We leave for a week in Florida. It's my kids' first time on a plane and they're looking forward to it. I'll be having a super special while I'm gone, so if you're not on my mailing list (you can sign up in the little box at the top of my blog, right under my picture), make sure you don't miss out. I'll be announcing it on Wednesday of this week!

Happy Creating!

-Stampin' Mama

And now for something completely different....no stamping, but a whole lot of WOW

When I got my mail yesterday, there was a little surprise for me waiting in my PO Box.

One of my sweet friends, Bee (who is also a new stamper and paper crafter, as well as blogger), sent me a beautiful card that she created for me along with a second envelope with some fantastic ribbon that she picked up while at Target.....after knowing that we don't have even ONE Target store in the whole great state of Vermont.

I feel a certain kinship with Bee, as she also has a son that is autistic. Bee and I actually met on LiveJournal because our sons are autistic. A mutual friend hooked us up and I've enjoyed getting to know Bee. And it seems that Bee would like to blame me for encouraging her new addiction to stamping. ;) That's okay.....at least this addiction is legal. ;)

Thank you, Bee, for the special treats in the mail! You ROCK!

I impressed myself so much yesterday with the Christmas tree card that I decided to try something along that line again today. The whole paper strip thing. But then I started looking at that ribbon and went in a different direction. This is what I came up with.

The card of ribbon actually came with 6 different ribbons on it, but there were 4 that caught my eye and seemed to work perfectly together. The "Celebrate" ribbon was part of the card, too, and was great as my greeting. This card ended up taking me about 7 minutes to put together and required no stamping whatsoever.  (I can hear the collective gasps out there.....it's okay, you die hard stampers can pick yourself up off the floor now.....you heard right, the Stampin'  Mama DID say this card required no stamping.....it's okay, really, it is.)

I cut strips of cardstock, taped some ribbon on top and cut the ends so they were flush with the edges of the cardstock. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. :) The "Celebrate" ribbon did get folded around the back of the cardstock, though. Using the "Celebrate" ribbon gave me a good reason to pull the coveted stash of Cool Caribbean cardstock I have hiding in my paper files. Since that luscious color retired at the end of June, I haven't been able to bring myself to use it. I limited myself (actually, I think "rationed" is a better word for this instance) to one piece for this card and then gave the rest of the pack of cardstock a kiss, petted it and lovingly put it back in the paper file, all the while telling it I won't forget it.  I had to assure the poor Cool Caribbean that it's not that I'm not using it because I don't love it anymore, but because I love it TOO much to use it all up. It seemed sad, but understanding. I think Cool Caribbean just needs a little more time to fully understand my love and devotion to it.

I just love my little candle. You never know where a brad is going to come in handy. A little snip-snip of some ribbon, a punched hole and a brad, and BAM.....you've got yourself a trendy little candle.

Have yourselves a lovely Wednesday night.....and I'm going to ask Bee if I can share the beautiful card she made me. :) I also have another card from another reader that came in the mail that I plan on sharing, as well! :)

Happy Creating!

-Stampin' Mama

Supplies:

Cardstock: Barely Banana, Cool Caribbean, Very Vanilla, Close to Cocoa; ribbon on cake from Target; ribbon for candle from Michael's; gold mini brad

Playing with some new papers.....Outlaw Designer Series

I don't know how in the world this happened, but I totally forgot that I had gotten this "Outlaw" Designer Series paper. I fell in love with this paper as soon as it came out in this year's catalog, so I don't know how I could forget that I had this sitting on my shelf, waiting to be opened.

The point of this is....I found it today and remembered (the remembering part came AFTER I found it) and broke into it.

Did I mention I was in love? This paper is so yummy, I want to eat it.

This card was made without any stamping. *GASP* Yes, I'm well aware that this qualifies as sacrilege to some, but every once in a while, it's nice to whip up a card without getting my fingers inky. Not that I want that to become a regular occurrence, but it is a nice change every now and then.

This paper was just begging to be put through the distressing tool from the Cutter Kit. It was also begging to be sanded around the edges.

One of the great features of the Double-Sided Designer Series paper is that it's DOUBLE SIDED! (who would have guessed?!) I love that I can get 12 different designs in a pack of paper at a very reasonable price! The more designs I have to choose from, the more creative I can be with my projects. And everything coordinates! It's amazing that I can combine different patterns together and STILL come out with project that looks awesome and I really like!

You can see here that I used a bunch of different patterns that you wouldn't normally see paired together in the fashion world but they come together really nicely on a card. I actually wouldn't mind a shirt with all of these patterns in this kind of layout.

The distressed edges of the patterned paper really looks good with the weathered patterns of the paper. So does the sanded edges. I use a really fine grade of sandpaper that takes off just enough of the finish on the paper but doesn't leave it looking like it was horribly scratched.

If you're wondering what the white edges are around the actual cardbase, it's Whisper White craft ink. My friend (and creative muse who insists she isn't a card maker), Jen, issued me a challenge last night. She told me that she wanted me to go 2 weeks without swiping a card (doing the direct-to-paper technique). As you can see from this card, I couldn't even make it one day with that challenge. The good thing about failing the challenge the first day in is that I really like the effect of the Whisper White craft ink around the edges of the Blue Bayou cardbase. See? There's always a positive spin on failing a challenge. *wink* Besides, there's always tomorrow for me to step up to the challenge again.....and fail again with a really great card as an outcome. haha!

The medallion is actually a pattern from one of the pieces of paper. I used my circle cutter to cut around the medallion and then sanded the edges of the paper. I used my circle cutter to also cut a larger circle out of one of the other patterned papers in the pack to mount the medallion on.

I wrapped a piece of narrow ivory organdy ribbon around the card and tied it with a double knot. Over the left side of the ribbon, I mounted the medallion on the card using Pop-dots. It gives a little more dimension to the card, but I also did this with the purpose of trying to keep from crushing the distressed paper edges underneath.

Now I just need a couple of the "western themed" stamp sets to go with this paper. I've been drooling over the coordinating set, "Wanted", and the equally awesome "Bronc Buster" set, since they came out in the catalog. Okay, okay......I also want the "Starstruck" set as well as the  "Bronco" Stampin' Around Wheel. Fine, I'll 'fess up and admit that I also want the "Round Up" Simply Scrappin' Kit.

Alright.....that's enough for confessions tonight. :)

Have an awesome evening!

Happy Creating!

-Stampin' Mama

Supplies:

Paper: Outlaw Designer Series Double-Sided paper; Cardstock: Blue Bayou; Ink: Whisper White craft ink; fine grade sandpaper; pop-dots; Coluzzle Cutting System (circle template); distressing tool from Cutter Kit; narrow ivory organdy ribbon

Simply Scrappin' Kits equals Simply made cards!

I recently got one of the new Simply Scrappin' Kits to use in my Paper Bag Album Stamp Camp. The Secret Garden Kit.

This kit is absolutely gorgeous! The papers remind me of beautiful Victorian wallpaper. The colors are so rich. The designs are reminiscent of a bygone era of parlor rooms and crushed velvet couches. And the new textured cardstock in these kits are simply delicious.

There are a lot of great features about the Simply Scrappin' Kits. The first thing that most people think about when they see these kits is scrapbooking. But you can do so much more with these kits than just scrapbooking!

Sure, scrapbooking is great and I'm a huge fan of it.....I was actually a scrapbooker LONG before I became a stamper....but these kits lend themselves so well to card making, as well. And the kits make card making SO easy. In fact, this card came together in under 5 minutes!

I love stamping, but for this card, I didn't even have to pick up a stamp. Every thing I used for this card (except for the ribbon) came from the Simply Scrappin' Kit. I love the fact that if I don't have a lot of time, but I need a beautiful card, all I have to do is dig into the Simply Scrappin' Kit and I'll have a card made in minutes.

The cardstock stickers in the kit are perfect for embellishing cards.....and you get so many of the, too! The big medallion on the card is actually layered. The green circle is one sticker, the flower is another sticker, the leaf is another and the small circle is yet another sticker. I love how you can layers the stickers in this kit to come up with great looks.

I demonstrated a card similar to this last night at a workshop and I had some guests there that were brand new to stamping. Last night was their first introduction to stamping. When I started to tear the double-sided paper to give it some texture, one of the women asked, "Don't you use scissors?" I thought that was such a cute question.....I remember being a brand new stamper a little over 6 years ago and wondered what kind of patterned scissors people used to get such a real-looking torn look. Wow....has it really been that long that I've been stamping? Time sure flies when you're have THIS MUCH FUN! :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Creating!

-Stampin' Mama