Stampin' Mama: A mama that stamps

12 Designers, 12 Amazing Projects, 5 Winners

The Supernovas are crazy for Spellbinders and we're having a blog hop to show off the new summer dies!  Hop along with us and leave us some love and you could end up winning one of the new sets!  We've hidden FIVE prizes among the Supernova's blogs, but no one knows which ones!  Leave a comment on one or all of the Supernova blogs in order to win.  The more you comment, the better your chances of winning.  Blog comments will be open until Wednesday at 6pm EST. The lucky winners will be announced on the Paper Craft Planet blog on Wednesday night. US residents only for winners. 

I used the Cherry Pickin' Frameabilities set for my card and craft foam. I ADORE using craft foam and it gets amazing effects when you put it through a die cutting machine (I used the Big Shot) with the Spellbinders dies.

I used Real Red cardstock for the base and layered a piece of Certainly Celery cardstock on top. I put a piece of pink craft foam through the Big Shot with the largest of the dies from the Cherry Pickin' Frameabilities set and layered that on top of So Saffron cardstock. I used red and green craft foam with the small cherry and leaf dies and adhered those on the frame with glue dots.

I stamped the greeting in black (from the Three Little Words set from Stampin' Up) and added some self adhesive rhinestones to bling up my card.

Our Blog Hoppers are:

• Adela Rossol
• Lynn Mercurio
• Wendy Price
• Jen Tapler
• Tammy Hershberger
• Erika Martin
• Lori Tecler
• Jessica Fick
• Sankari Wegman
• Susanna Boyd
• Amy Park
• Kim Burmeister
  

Check out our gallery to see all the projects in one place!

Flower Soft Snow Globe cards

Today Paper Craft Planet has a really fun game to play. The Super Novas all got together and played with the new Flower Soft Snow Globe CD. I'm so excited to share this project with you.... and you can play along and win a prize by participating in a scavenger hunt! Keep reading for instructions on how you can win! 

Today's scavenger hunt is sponsored by Flower Soft! You could win a GENEROUS prize if you play our game... "Flower Soft makes your stamps look real, that's why it has such a huge appeal. You can use it on flowers or snow, it's great for trees and plants, you know. You can win some if you can link the Snow Globe CD - you can do it, I think!" 

Want to know what you're playing for? You could win the same prize pack the Super Novas used to create all these beautiful projects! Package includes the Snow Globe CD, oval aperture cards and envelopes and display globes!

I created 3 projects for this challenge. I was having so much fun with all the products that I just couldn't stop.

I started off by doing a simple stacked snow globe card. I put the CD into my computer and printed out the images on white cardstock and cut them out, then stacked them using pop-dots. The card already came with the oval cut out on it for the snow globe to be inserted into. It was super easy to put this all together. I added some Polar White Flower Soft on top of the stacked images before I put the globe on. I also printed out one of the banners (I love that they can be done in different sizes with Photoshop) and added that to my card with pop-dots.

I stamped some snowflakes around my card with blue ink and did the direct-to-paper technique around the edges of the card with the same blue ink.

My kids and hubby were super impressed at much it looked like a snow globe and at the Flower Soft shaking around looking like snow.

For my second card, I printed out one of the backing papers on cardstock and cut it to the size of the card. I tacked it down lightly to the front of the card and used a pencil to trace where the oval on the card was cut out, then cut the oval out of the backing paper. I then adhered it to the front of the card. I love the different options the CD gave me and the blue snowflake paper printed out so nicely on my ink jet printer. I didn't think it would do a good job of printing since it's not a top of the line printer but the resolution of the images are so well done that it wasn't a problem at all.

For this snow globe, I chose to do the Tole Snow Globe which are images that get cut out to layer on top of each other, but not in the way the card above was done with different sized ovals. The tole images are cut out so that it creates a 3-dimensional scene....super cool! I used pop-dots to stack the images together.

I added some Flower Soft to the stack of images and added the globe. I used the same banner greeting as I did in the first card, but made it a little smaller than the first. I used pop-dots to adhere it to my card.

One of the other products on the CD that I wanted to try were the Aperture Frames. The fun winter creatures are so adorable. There's a polar bear, a snowman and a penguin.

I printed out the polar bear on white cardstock and cut out the oval on the tummy (which is already marked out when you print out the image), added the marshmallows to the globe and then applied everything to a piece of Amethyst cardstock. I trimmed around it to leave a border. I then printed out the little Seasons Greetings sign on white cardstock and adhered it to the polar bear's hand with pop-dots.

Check out what the Super Novas made!

Adela Rossol

Lynn Mercurio

Kim Burmeister

Wendy Price

Jen Tapler

Erika Martin

Lori Tecler

Jessica Fick

Sankari Wegman

Susanna Boyd

Amy Park

Find the product on the Flower Soft website that fits the clue and you could be our winner! Leave a comment on Paper Craft Planet with your answer. We will pick a random winner for all the CORRECT entries on December 14th.

I Brake for Stamps - Sketch Challenge on PCP (& a coupon!)

The PaperCraft Planet SuperNovas and I teamed up to bring you this next challenge -- it's a sketch challenge, sponsored by I Brake For Stamps.

Now, I'll be honest with you and tell you right off that I totally forgot to use the sketch. I sat down and started playing with Christmas papers and just took off on this card. When I started loading my post into my blog, I realized that I'd forgotten all about the sketch! DOH!

To play along, create a card using the sketch at the bottom of this post. Post your project in the Paper Craft Planet photo gallery, and use the tag "PCPIBFS" -- all caps, please. (Here is a tutorial on adding pictures to the gallery, if you need it.)

I Brake For Stamps has generously offered a $30 gift certificate to the store to one of our lucky challenge players.

For my card, I used the  Shopping Aunt Mae and greeting, which comes on a sheet with 8 stamps total. I stamped my image on white cardstock and colored with Copic markers. I added some Dazzling Diamonds glitter to her hat, the cuffs and hem of her coat and the tops of her boots. I used Certainly Celery cardstock for the card base and swiped over it with my ink pad of the same color. I like the texture this gives cardstock.

The patterned paper is from the retired SU pack of Holiday Treasures paper. I added some whimsical paper piercing around the card with a thumb tack and and my stamping mat. Sometimes I just don't feel like digging out my piercing tools out or sticking to a straight line. And if you don't have a piercing tool or mat, you can always use a thumb tack and a piece of crafting foam.

I added some brown photo turns with mini red brads in the corners and then mounted my Aunt Mae image with pop-dots.

For the inside of my card (I don't often stamp on the inside of my cards because I write A LOT inside and usually any images just get in my way - what can I say...I'm long winded! ha!), but the shopping sentiment was perfect for the inside. I used some of the same patterned papers on the inside and stamped the sentiment with Basic Brown ink.

The Supernovas and I all used the Humorous Seniors for our cards.  Check out what the other Super Novas came up with:

Adela Rossol
Melanie Muechinger
Lynn Mercurio
Kim Burmeister
Wendy Price Jen Tapler
Tammy Hershberger
Lori Tecler
Sankari Wegman
Susanna Boyd



Here's the sketch for you to follow:
When you place an order between now and Saturday, use the code "PCPlanet" and you'll save 15%!!!!! Head over to I Brake for Stamps to check out their huge selection!


Happy Creating!
-Erika (Stampin' Mama)

"Whoooo loves you, baby?" - MyGrafico Stamp Challenge

We have a really fun challenge for you today -- it's a product challenge, sponsored by MyGrafico. To play along, create ANYTHING using one of the MyGrafico images -- they have a ton to choose from, but if you're trying to cut costs, here's  a link to some free images. 

Post your project in the Paper Craft Planet photo gallery, and use the tag "PCPgrafico". (Here is a tutorial on adding pictures to the gallery, if you need it.)  MyGrafico has generously offered a $10 gift certificate to the store to one of our lucky challenge players.
 
 

The Supernovas and I all used the Forest Friends digi stamp set for our cards.  I picked the owl image.  It looked like such a fun image to cut out and put against a blue sky. I printed the owl on ivory cardstock and colored it in with Koh-i-noor pencils and blended them with Odorless Mineral Spirits.  I used a piece of Kiwi Kiss cardstock for my card base and then layered with a piece of Baja Breeze. The clouds were cut with my scalloped edge circle punch along edge of ivory cardstock. (I'm totally digging making clouds this way!) My owl was mounted on my card with pop-dots for some dimension. The sentiment was hand written and I drew a speech bubble around it with a black journaling marker.

Just a note about working with digital stamps:

• You do NOT have to have a photo editing software.  You can just open and print these jpg images.
• If you have a photo editing program, the images come in both jpg and png files.  You can resize the images and combine them into scenes with just a click of the mouse.
• Digital images last forever and require very little storage space!
• There are several great tutorial videos over on Paper Craft Planet that will show you how to use digital images, if you have any questions.

Here is what the rest of the Super Novas came up with:

Adela Rossol

Lynn Mercurio

Kim Burmeister

Wendy Price

Tammy Hershberger

Lori Tecler

Jessica Fick

Sankari Wegman

Susanna Boyd

Now, it's your turn!  Take the challenge and let's see what you make!

New Online Course - "Creating with Canvas"

Our papercrafting supplies can be used for so much more than just cards, scrapbooks and gift items.
There are countless ways that you can put your supplies to use to create decorative items
for your home. Working on canvases is a great way to start. It's like working on a huge scrapbook
page or an even bigger card!

The "Creating with Canvas" Online Course will walk you through techniques to create your own
amazing piece of artwork, whether it's on a small canvas or if you're creating one that takes
up a whole wall!

Creating beyond the card and outside of the scrapbook is a great way to
stretch your artistic muscles. It gives you a whole new outlet for your creativity
and gives you many reasons to think in terms of the "big picture." And since you're already here,
I know you're a papercrafter, which means that you probably have ALMOST everything to
create your canvas already in your craft stash!

The "Creating with Canvas Course" is the next of MANY online courses offered
right here on the Paper Craft Planet.

From July 27-31, a new "Creating with Canvas" PDF file will be loaded to the site, full of techniques.
And, you'll use these techniques over and over again!

The Class includes:

* 5 days of techniques (learn how to prime your canvas, create shapes using patchwork
techniques with patterned paper,
adding 3-D embellishments to your canvas, learn painting techniques and more!
* Full color, step-by-step photos
* Detailed instructional tutorials
* Supply lists for all techniques
* Extra sample photos of multiple projects
* PDF files so you can print out the tutorial to keep in a binder to go back to every time
you'd like to make these canvases again!

Because of the amazing creative flexibility of creating canvases, you can execute the techniques
in this course with most of the supplies you already have in your papercrafting stash! And even without some of the items, they're easily secured at a local craft store and very inexpensive.

Course registration: $24.95

NEW CLASS OPTION: You now have the option to purchase this course as a Tutorial CD!
By choosing this option, you can have the convenience of having this entire class, plus the PDF files,
all loaded onto one CD!

Creating with Canvas Tutorial CD: $29.95

Price includes shipping.
Tutorial CDs will be ready to ship starting August 3rd.

The "Creating with Canvas" Course will rock your creative world......and the best thing about it is that you probably already have almost everything you need for these canvases......and you can make them over and over again!

If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected]

Hope to see you in class!

Early Bird Registraion ends today!

 

 EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION ENDS TODAY!

Do you remember being a kid and wanting to color or paint in your books, but your parents wouldn't let you? Have you ever wanted to help a book along and use it as your canvas? Do you have books on your shelf that you know you'll never read again, but would like to re-purpose them? Have you seen altered books in the crafting circles and wondered how to create them?

The "Altered Books 101" Online Course will walk you through techniques to get you started and giveyou a foundation to work on to let your creativity soar.

Altered books are wonderful for exploring your creative side, discovering creativity you may not be aware you have, give you an outlet for creative brainstorming and using old books to create a new piece of art is perfect for your budget, your valuable time and you probably have everything to create your altered books already in your craft stash!

CLICK HERE for registration and payment info.  

New Online Class - Altered Books 101

Taught by Your Online Course Mentor: Erika Martin (Stampin' Mama)

Do you remember being a kid and wanting to color or paint in your books, but your parents wouldn't let you? Have you ever wanted to help a book along and use it as your canvas? Do you have books on your shelf that you know you'll never read again, but would like to re-purpose them? Have you seen altered books in the crafting circles and wondered how to create them?

The "Altered Books 101" Online Course will walk you through techniques to get you started and giveyou a foundation to work on to let your creativity soar.

Altered books are wonderful for exploring your creative side, discovering creativity you may not be aware you have, give you an outlet for creative brainstorming and using old books to create a new piece of art is perfect for your budget, your valuable time and you probably have everything to create your altered books already in your craft stash!

The "Altered Books 101 Course" is the next of MANY online courses offered
right here on the Paper Craft Planet.

From June 22-26, a new "Altered Books 101" PDF file will be loaded to the site, full of techniques. And, you'll use these techniques over and over again!

The Class includes:

* 5 days of techniques (learn how to bind pages, create shadow boxes, do various folds, create pockets,learn easy aging and painting techniques and more!
* Full color, step-by-step photos
* Detailed instructional tutorials
* Supply lists for all techniques
* Bonus tips, ideas and suggestions
* Extra sample photos of multiple projects
* PDF files so you can print out the tutorial to keep in a binder to go back to every time
you'd like to make these gifts again!

Because of the amazing creative flexibility of making altered book, you can execute the techniques in this course with most, if not ALL, of the supplies you already have in your papercrafting stash!

Course registration: $25.95

NEW CLASS OPTION: You now have the option to purchase this course as a Tutorial CD!
By choosing this option, you can have the convenience of having this entire class, plus the PDF files, all loaded onto one CD!

Altered Books 101 Tutorial CD: $29.95

Price includes shipping.
Tutorial CDs will be ready to ship starting June 29th.

The "Altered Books 101" Course will rock your creative world......and the best thing about it is that you probably already have almost everything you need for these projects......and you can make them over and over again!

If you have any questions, please email your Course Mentor (Erika Martin) at [email protected]

New Online Class - Paper Bag Mini Albums

I love making mini albums for friends and relatives. They're compact and easy to carry around in
a purse and they're also quick to make. They are perfect for upcoming teacher's gifts and even your
kids can join in on the fun of making them. These albums are wonderful for any time of the year,
even as a "just because" gift. Once you make these albums, you'll be addicted and will have a whole
library of them in no time! This new 3-day online course will show you just how easy it is to take regular lunch bags and create works of art that will showcase your beautiful photographs in a fast, fun and easy way!

These Paper Bag Mini Albums are perfect for your budget, your valuable time and you probably have
everything to make these projects already in your craft stash!

The "Paper Bag Mini Albums 3-day Online Course" is the next of MANY online courses offered
right here on the Paper Craft Planet.

From May 26-28, a new "Paper Bag Mini Albums" project will be uploaded to the course.

And, you are going to use these ideas over and over again! They're great for all kinds of occasions!

Each day of the class will include:

* 3 projects - one each day!
* Full color, step-by-step photos
* Detailed instructional tutorial
* Dimensions included for cardstock cutting purposes
* Bonus tips, ideas and suggestions
* Extra sample photos of multiple projects
* PDF files so you can print out the tutorial to keep in a binder to go back to every time
you'd like to make these gifts again!
* Printable files so you can customize your projects for multiple occasions.
These files make this course even MORE valuable!

All of the Paper Bag Mini Album projects in this course can be made with most, if not ALL,
of the supplies you already have in your papercrafting stash! This course will show you
how to create beautiful gift projects that work within your budget and make wonderful heartfelt gifts.
These designs can be used over and over again for all occasions or even
"just because."
(This course will be archived for 3 months so you'll have access to it during and after the
course so you can create at your own pace)

Class starts Tuesday - register today!

Course registration: $19.95

 

NEW CLASS OPTION: You now also have the option to purchase this course as a Tutorial CD!
By choosing this option, you can have the convenience of having this entire class, plus the PDF files,
all loaded onto one CD!

Paper Bag Mini Albums Tutorial CD: $24.95

Price includes shipping.
Tutorial CDs will start mailing May 27th.

Once you've registered, you'll receive an invitation granting you special "student only" access to
the course site so that you can start getting your "creative groove" on once the class starts on May 26th!

The "Paper Bag Mini Albums" Online Course will rock your creative world......and the best thing about it is that you probably already have almost everything you need for these projects......and you can make them over and over again!

If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected]

Watercolor Flowers Tutorial with Fifth Avenue Floral set (Stampin' UP)

Do you remember the Watercolor Flowers I posted on Saturday? 

I told you I was going to share a tutorial on how to do this beautiful technique and it went live on Monday morning over at Paper Craft Planet. You can view the full tutorial here: Watercolor Flowers Tutorial  

I originally found this technique on Kerin Sylvester's blog and fell in love with the look. Kerin has quite a few projects on her blog showcasing the many ways you can use this technique. It's no wonder I was drawn to it...she has a very beautiful style and pulls off this technique with flair! Thanks, Kerin!

When you check out the Tutorial I created, you'll see how to do the technique and then you can make the card you see here! 

I started with Mellow Moss as my base card and stamped the large rose image (from the Fifth Avenue Floral set - Stampin' Up) on the cardstock with the same color ink, to create a tone-on-tone effect. I stamped the greeting (from the same set) at the bottom with Basic Brown ink.

I used watercolor paper, white embossing powder and More Mustard ink for my Watercolor Rose. It's amazing the different looks you can get with this one image by just changing the colors of the re-inker you use for your flower. I went a bit heavy on the re-inker for this rose because I was trying to get a deep, rich orange-yellow look to the rose.

I mounted a piece of So Saffron cardstock on top of a piece of Close to Cocoa cardstock and then put that on top of my card base.

The rose was put on top with some pop-dots for extra dimension.

Why not take your Aqua Painter or paint brushes out, dust them off and use them again with this technique. It's VERY easy and you'll find yourself just as in love with it as Kerin and I have become!

Watercolor Flowers Tutorial

And make sure to add your creations with this technique to the Gallery over at PaperCraft Planet so we can all see how beautiful they are!

Happy Creating!

-Erika (Stampin' Mama) 

Recycled CD Gifts Online Class - Early bird registration now open!

BE ONE OF THE FIRST 10 TO REGISTER AND GET A FREE BONUS TUTORIAL!

If you're like me, you probably have a decent sized stack of CDs that came in the mail from internet companies, tax software, etc. I always feel bad throwing these CDs away and think that I'll use themlater on in a crafting project. If you're looking for a way to FINALLY put all those CDs to use and want to recycle them into a fun project, then this course was created just for you!

This new 3-day online course will show you just how easy it is to whittle down that pile of CDs and create some beautiful and amazing gifts out of them!

These recycled CD projects are perfect for your budget, your valuable time and you probably have everything to make these projects already in your craft stash!

The "Recycled CD Gifts 3-day Online Course" is the next of MANY online courses to
come on the Paper Craft Planet.

From April 27-29, a new "Recycled CD Gift" project will be uploaded to the course.
These recycled CD gift projects are not only pretty, but they'll give you a way to "go green," too!
And, you are going to use these ideas over and over again! They're great for all kinds of occasions!

Each day of the class will include:

* 3 projects - one each day!
* Full color, step-by-step photos
* Detailed instructional tutorial
* Dimensions included for cardstock cutting purposes
* Bonus tips, ideas and suggestions
* Extra sample photos of multiple projects
* PDF files so you can print out the tutorial to keep in a binder to go back to every time
you'd like to make these gifts again!
* Printable files so you can customize your projects for multiple occasions.
These files make this course even MORE valuable!

All of the Recycled CD Gift projects in this course can be made with most, if not ALL,
of the supplies you already have in your papercrafting stash! This course will show you
how to create beautiful gift projects that work within your budget and make wonderful heartfelt gifts.
These designs can be used over and over again for all occasions or even
"just because."
(This course will be archived so you'll have access to it during and after the
course so you can create at your own pace)

Course registration: $19.95

NEW CLASS OPTION: You now also have the option to purchase this course as a Tutorial CD!
By choosing this option, you can have the convenience of having this entire class, plus the PDF files,
all loaded onto one CD!

Recycled CD Gifts Tutorial CD: $24.95

Price includes shipping.
Tutorial CDs will start mailing April 30th.

Once you've registered, you'll receive an invitation granting you special "student only" access to
the course site so that you can start getting your "creative groove" on once the class starts on April 27th!

The "Recycled CD Gifts" Online Course will rock your creative world......and the best thing about it is that you probably already have almost everything you need for these projects......and you can make them over and over again!

If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected]