For the Guys HSS119 {Sneak Peeks}

Pin It Now! Hello my friends!  It's time for another fun Inspiration Challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments!  This week's challenge is a masculine theme, and with Father's Day just around the corner, it's a great opportunity to plan ahead.

Experience tells me that my guy likes cards that are clean, simple, but warm on tones. And he likes different folds, all my boys seem to notice that in a card.  Here's what I came up with...


A gatefold card, showcasing some NEW Designer Series Paper!  Available June 1, it's called Comfort Cafe.  Aside from these great masculine chevron patterns, there are some attractive florals that will be great for Fall. Also NEW are the Designer Naturals Buttons. Great woodtones!
Here's the challenge:

I'm also linking up with Mojo Monday for the sketch that helped me along in my Masculine Theme Mental Block.  Oh, how I wanted to stick a bow on there somewhere.

Here's a closer look at the new goodies...nice patterns, eh?  Very on-trend!



Thanks for looking! I hope you'll join in on the HSS Masculine Theme this week and create something for that guy of yours!



Have a blessed & creative day! Erika. www.erikaclark.stampinup.net

Carry On, Cupcake! {Sneak Peek}

Pin It Now! Hey, Sweetie!  Happy Saturday to you.

I got my NEW STASH this week for the upcoming 2012-2013 catalog, and just had to make a little project!  I couldn't wait another day, with all that new rubber and paper sitting in my craft room.

How fun is this new set? Carry On, a hostess set.

Everything you see here is NEW stuff!
- New In-Color, Primrose Petals
- New DSP, Floral District, bright, juicy shades and combos of patterns/florals.
- New ribbon, 3/8" Stitched Satin in Gumball Green. This is available in all the new In-Colors.- The stamp at the bottom of the card is a wheel, Betsy's  Blooms. 
I used Pal's Paper Arts' challenge template PPA135 for both the card and the shopping bag.  Flipped the template...

Simple layout, but I'm loving the colors!  

The miniature shopping bag is just the right size for a gift card! 

Have a blessed & creative day! Erika. 

Rockin' Retro Birthday RS11 AND A WINNER!!! :D

Pin It Now! Hey crafty friends!  Today is my local card swap, and today is also the day I started my cards.  Yah, I work well on a deadline :)  The theme is Masculine, so I whipped out my Grunge Rock which is retiring at the end of the month.  I tend to keep masculine retired stamps because guys don't care about current/trendy stamps!


I used this week's RetroSketches template, which is fab and fun!  And if you don't recognize that patterned paper, Stampin' Up! enthusiasts, that is because its (SNEAK PEEK ALERT!!!) NEW!!! Christmas DSP called Be Of Good Cheer.  The cool 50's-esque stars caught my eye when flipping through my paper stack, and it was perfect for the design I had in mind.  This paper is awesome...some are very Christmasy, others can be used year 'round.

Here's the sketch:


And here are the details:
Paper layers: Be of Good Cheer, First Edition, Crumb Cake, stamped & run thru Big Shot with Stripes embosisng folder, Very Vanilla banner
Embellishments: Mini brads, Cherry Cobbler quilted ribbon


The inside...


I think my 'tween dudes will like this one!

And last, but not least, the winner of the BLOG CANDY FROM THIS POST. Drumroll please....The winner of the crystal drawer pull card holder and Thank You card is:

List Randomizer

There were 8 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. queeniejeannie
2. augustins
3. linda l
4. jennifer
5. donna
6. aunt megan
7. margieslyck
8. heidi

Timestamp: 2012-05-15 18:09:56 UTC

Woohoo, Queenie!  You are a winner!

Since I'm a couple of days late on the draw, I'm going to offer a little second prize win for my #2 in line, All About the Augustins.  It'll be a Thank You card and a little sneak peek blog candy.  

Please send your mailing addresses to me at erika dot stmichaelsrv at gmail dot com

Have a blessed & creative day! Erika. www.erikaclark.stampinup.net

Friends Let Friends Emboss Resist!

Pin It Now! Hi crafty friends!  This week's challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments is Embossing Resist.  It's a really pretty technique, where you stamp, sponge, or paint over a heat embossed image.  You can learn all about it here at Splitcoast Stampers.

My embossing resist sample is a bit more subtle than some, but I really liked the effect.  I die cut a butterfly from vellum with the Beautiful Butterfly Bigz die, and used the punched negative of it as a mask to press Versamark onto my stamped image (Friendly Words wheel with black Staz On). Then heat embossed with Melon Mambo Stampin' Emboss powder, and sponged the sentiment with Certainly Celery, Pool Party, and So Saffron.  The Melon Mambo stays nice and bright and shiny, and looks like a brilliant shadow under the vellum butterfly.


The other details are from the Flirtatious DSP. I cut pieces from the doily laser cut sheets to tuck behind the center image, and cut a bit of a doily circle to make the ribbon banner cluster pop a bit. Added a couple more ribbon bits, and a "Friend" banner. The Basic Rhinestones are colored with black and hot pink Sharpies.  

Here's a close up of the butterfly.  The Melon Mambo is just sheer enough that you can still see the print underneath, but allows all the pretty sponged colors to take over the Friends print.




The inside is blank, except for a punched butterfly, with another doily behind it.

I'm also using this template from Stamping 411, their fun sketch challenge made my work a little easier! Won't you check them out too?

Now, can you tell what my plans are for the evening? Yay!  My SU preorder, new Idea Book & Catalog, and my favorite scrapbooking magazine.  I need a day or so to myself now!

SUPPLY LIST:
STAMPS: Friendly Words Wheel
INK:  Melon Mambo, Black Staz On, Certainly Celery, Pool Party, So Saffron
PAPER:  Flirtatious DSP, Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
EMBELLISHMENTS: RIBBON: So Saffron Organza 1/2", Certainly Celery 1/8" Taffeta, Basic Black 5/8" satin.  Basic Rhinestones, Vellum Sheets, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, sponges.
OTHER: Sharpie Markers



Have a blessed & creative day! Erika. www.erikaclark.stampinup.net

{Step It Up} Thank You Notes Three Ways

Pin It Now! PRIZE ALERT!!!  Want to win some blog candy?? Details at the end of the post.

Stampin' Up provides demonstrators with the wonderful Stampin' Success Magazine every month.  It's a publication that is chock full of hot trends, tips, encouragement, samples, news, and advice.  I've been intrigued by a monthly column called STEP IT UP, where they show you how you can take one card layout and make it three ways:
(1) Clean and Simple
(2) Dressed up a bit, or
(3) All out with details!
Here's a set of Thank You notes I prepared for my customers.  I had a little fun STEPPING IT UP!



The first sample is done with a simple scalloped edge, Very Vanilla ribbon, and a touch of Stampin' Pastels. Pretty, and easy to do. Perfect for the beginner or to do a batch quickly.

Below is #2. I Stepped It Up by adding a double layer of pink ribbon, knotted in the front. It picks up the pink from the floral stamp and the bling on the tower.


And the third card...
This one took a little longer!  Besides all of the steps in #2, I added the following:
- Stamped the scalloped edge with a border stamp from Creative Elements.
- Background stamped the front with a flourish from Creative Elements and Versamark.
- Sponged the edges with Pretty In Pink,
- Added a third ribbon (Certainly Celery), and cinched it together with an Antique Brad topped with another Basic Rhinestone colored with a Sharpie Marker.


I liked the first two cards just fine, but when I finished with the sponging on the third, I was really satisfied :) My inner perfectionist said, "There, that's better"!
Here's a little detail on the ribbon treatment...


SUPPLY LIST:
STAMPS: Artistic Etchings, Creative Elements, Established Elegance
INK:  Basic Grey, Versamark
PAPER:  Very Vanilla
ACCESSORIES:  Stampin' Pastels, Basic Rhinestones, AntiqueBrads, Sponge
RIBBON:  1/8" Taffeta Certainly Celery, Pink Pirouette 3/8" Taffeta, Very Vanilla Seam Binding Ribbon

PRIZE ALERT!!! Want one of these sweet little glass knob card holders, and a Thank You note? I made 'em myself!  Leave a comment below telling me which version of this card you'd like to have and why.  I'll draw a winner on Mother's Day and mail your prize Monday 5/14/12. 

Have a blessed & creative day! Erika. www.erikaclark.stampinup.net

Simple Sophistication for HSS117

Pin It Now!

The theme this week at Hand Stamped Sentiments is Wedding or Sophistication.  So, I learned a long time ago from a woman who exuded classiness that sophistication is keeping it simple, but simply the best.  And you're best dressed when you get completely accessorized, and then remove one item.  Not overdone.

So I created this wedding ensemble using simple but super high quality components.

Watercolor paper...thick, sturdy, with a beautiful texture.

Very Vanilla Seam Binding Ribbon...delicate, with a sheen on both sides.

Simple, clean stamp layout using Artistic Etchings and Established Elegance.

Minimal embellishment with basic rhinestones, colored grey.

The thank-you note has a scalloped border, and I placed the flourish underneath the Perfectly Penned "Thank You" sentiment.  It looked a little bare, so I colored the flowers with Stampin' Write Markers in Certainly Celery and the Blush marker used for skin tone.  Added one rhinestone at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Here's a little gift tag made with the Two Tags die, with just the crown image, a rhinestone, and "Mr. & Mrs." from Petite Pairs.

The wedding card is again done using Watercolor paper and stamped in Basic Grey, with just a little bling.

The real stars of the show are these cute little card or placecard holders I made from glass drawer pulls and a beautiful French vintage perfume bottle!

I filled the bottle with German glass glitter to keep the wire holder in place.  Tied a little seam binding ribbon around, and a Trinket Key with Linen Thread.  

The knobs are just the right size for displaying a card or for table numbers at a wedding.  I trimmed this one with a strand of rhinestones painted with a grey Sharpie to make the bling look more vintage, and to match the glass glitter.

Want to make some? Here's the super high tech tutorial...
Take a jumbo paper clip, unbend it, use pliers and your other hand to wrap it twice around a cylinder such as my lipstick I keep in my scrap tote to look good even when I make cards (LOL), bend one end straight down, and plunk in into a hot glue filled drawer pull.

Hope you will play along with  http://handstampedsentiments.blogspot.com/  this week.  I can't wait to see all the pretty and sophisticated creations you all come up with!

Have a blessed and creative day!  Erika

Sweet Shoppe Duet {Cards for Kids}

Pin It Now! A little birthday happiness for anyone that likes the bright, cool colors reminiscent of the '50s soda shoppes.


The card is 3" x 6" on Pool Party textured cardstock, with Edgelits, Sweet Shoppe DSP, tab punch, and trimmed out with Real Red Glimmer Paper and Galaxy Glitter on the frosting. Stamp set is Sweet Cake from the Spring Mini. 
The Pixie Stix favor I made to be used as a gift topper, with Button Buddies cherry image, the body of the tag from 2-1/2" circle punch, and trimmed and tied with Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine. The Pixie Stix will probably be a bigger hit than the present you tied them onto! :D

Have a blessed & creative day! Erika.