August 11, 2011

SUMMER VINTAGE MINI BOOK - JUST A TEASER :-)

Good morning to all of you! It is HOT HOT HOT again here and I am wishing for a little bit of a breeze - just a little one, lol!  I was standing outside with the dogs this morning and already the sun was merciless -thinking I will be staying inside or in the pool today :-)  I have lots to do as I get ready for a stamping marathon weekend! I am teaching a mini book class tomorrow night so I thought I would give you a teaser by sharing just the cover of the book with you today (once I have taught the class, I can share the inside pages).  I love our new patterned papers in the new catalog - they are right up my alley! For this book, I am using the Beau Chateau designer series paper and it is soooooo beautiful! The soft colors and vintage patterns lend itself VERY well for this project, not to mention I just find it very YUMMY :-)  This is a 6x6 mini book, chock full of fun inserts and stamping techniques! For the cover of this, I used the Notably Ornate stamp set, which I love because it is so versatile, leaves lots of space for journaling, and well, is just darn pretty! There is lots of ribbons and embellies as you can see and the fringed flower is a new technique I am going to share with my customers.  And, hold on to your panties, ladies, BUT I am going to do a video tutorial on this as well!! Yep, so many of you have been asking so I am taking the plunge  - you should see this next week sometime (can't promise when) so watch for it!  I am not going to give you all the details of this fun mini as of yet - remember, this is just a teaser *wink* but I WILL share after the class has been taught so if you have questions, hold off as I am sure I will answer most of them once I post it all.  Now, I am off to finish kitting this lovely project and then into town I go to drop off the kid's paperwork at the high school.  Two more weeks until school starts - they might not be ready, but I sure am, lol!! Have a wonderful day and I will be back with something fun tomorrow! Until then, I hope you have time to STAMP SOMETHING!!!!
Mini Cover Recipe:
Paper - Blushing Bride, Marina Mist, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede card stock, Beau Chateau designer series paper
Inks - Soft Suede, Marina Mist classic inks
Stamps - Notably Ornate, Elements of Style (sentiment)
Tools - Cropadile, Eyelet Border Punch, Circle punches (all sizes), Ticket Corner Punch
Accessories - Early Espresso narrow ribbon, Very Vanilla narrow ribbon, Very Vanilla Satin ribbon, Soft Suede taffeta ribbon, Vintage brads, Beveled Windowpanes, Victoria lace ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, mini clips

August 10, 2011

A SNEAKY PEEK OF THINGS TO COME!

Happy Hump Day!! WOW! This week is flying by - I have been soooo busy getting ready for my weekend that is chock full of stamping events - my kind of weekend *wink*  I love when I have fun events to look forward to because it means stamping with friends, lots of laughter, and of course seeing people I don't always get to see! So, since I can't show you those projects quite yet, I thought I would give you a sneak peek of some of the fun things to come next month with the new Holiday Mini! Yep, it is that time of year again, lol! The new mini will be available for all of you to order from starting September 1st BUT one of the perks of being a demonstrator is that I get to order a full month earlier and play :-) Cool, right??  So, while most of us are still seeing triple digits with the heat, I thought I would make a snowy card and cool things down a bit! I used the new Christmas Lodge stamp set - isn't it pretty??!!  I paired it with the Frostwood Lodge Designer Series paper and some Cherry Cobbler card stock - YUM!!! And, see that ribbon in the background? That is our new Early Espresso Quilted Ribbon which is amazing and already on my next order, lol!! I really wanted to created a winter wonderland feel to this card, but did not want to use all of my new Dazzling Details glitter glue (yep, you heard me right!) so I used a small piece of the new Silver Glimmer paper, distressing one edge to look like rough mounds of snowy goodness! I did use the Dazzling Details for the roof porch, and window sills of the house - doesn't all that glitter make you happy??!! I love snow like this - I don't have to shovel it, drive in it, or take the dogs out in it, lol!

Here is a close-up of the house - I just love how this looks!! I stamped the whole image in Early Espresso ink, but then went back in with my Always Artichoke stampin' write marker and added some green to the trees.  Then, I took my white gel pen and added some of that to the trees too! I love the contrast against the house :-) This was going to be a swap card, but I changed my mind so that is why I can share this one with you. *wink* I am going to be playing with this set again today to figure out what I am going to do for the swap - tough job, but somebody has to do it, lol!!! All of these products that I have featured here today will be available for you to order on September 1st and if you are already on my mailing list and have ordered in the last six months, you will be receiving a FREE Holiday Mini in the mail in the next couple of weeks!! If you don't receive one, but would like to have a hard copy of this mini, contact me and I will be happy to send one out to you!  So, now I am off to get my stamp on and then go to my friend's jewelry party tonight - who doesn't like jewelry??!! Have a wonderful day, and I really hope you get the chance to STAMP SOMETHING!!!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White card stock, Frostwood Lodge Designer Series paper
Inks - Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Always Artichoke classic inks and stampin' write markers, white gel pen
Stamps - Christmas Lodge
Accessories - Silver Glimmer paper, Early Espresso quilted ribbon, mini silver brads, Dazzling Details glitter glue

August 9, 2011

A NICE MASCULINE CARD


Good morning stampers!! I hope your week is going well - it is BUSY around the Hobson house, lol!! Getting ready for two workshops, two classes, and a downline meeting AND getting the kiddos ready to go back to school, lol!! But, busy is good, it keeps me out of trouble, heehee!!! So, I wanted to share another swap card I made. This one uses a set I HAD to have right away called Zoo Review - I have been WAITING and WAITING for a good zoo set because I have TONS of pics that need scrapping that are from the zoo and the wild animal park!! I snatched this one up the minute I could order, lol!!! This is the first time I have inked it up but I have lots of plans for it in the future *wink*  I wanted to make a masculine birthday card - guy cards are hard for me it seems so I need the practice, lol! The base of the card is Early Espresso with the next layer being River Rock card stock that is embossed on my Big Shot using the new embossing folder called Houndstooth - yummy.  Then, more card stock layers of Early Espresso and Cajun Craze to give some dimension and depth to the image piece.   I chose the giraffe, which I stamped on Naturals White card stock and then stamped again on patterned paper from the Well Worn designer series paper collection. LOVE it!!! I cut the image out and paper pieced myself a giraffe that looks really like a giraffe should look :-)  Cool, right?? Perfect paper for this!! The ribbon is also new and is Artichoke Denim Jean ribbon - AMAZING ribbon that I NEED more of because I can't stop using it, lol!!! I added one of the new mini silver brads (and I thought I would never use these, heehee) and the sentiment, and the card is done! Pretty simple but most masculine cards are! I DO like the way it turned out, and now I have the perfect birthday card for my nephew:-)  If you like these products used here, and would like them to be in YOUR stamp room, you can order them in my online store or you can contact me and I will be happy to help you place your order! OR, you can earn them for FREE (yes, I said FREE) by hosting a workshop where I get to come and stamp with you and your friends - I would love that!!!  So, now I am off to the ortho about my knee, but then back to my stamp room I come to work on my upcoming events - have I told you how much I love my job??!!!  I will be back tomorrow with a sneak peek project from the upcoming mini....you DON'T want to miss it *wink*
Card Recipe:
Paper - Early Espresso, River Rock, Cajun Craze, Naturals Ivory card stock, Well Worn Designer Series Paper
Ink - Early Espresso, Cajun Craze classic inks
Stamps - Zoo Review
Tools - Big Shot, Houndstooth embossing folder, 1 inch, 1 1/4 inch, 1 3/8 inch circle punches, Ticket Corner Punch, Sponge
Accessories Always Artichoke Denim Jean ribbon, mini silver brads

August 8, 2011

A LITTLE BIT O' VINTAGE

Good Monday morning all!! Well, I guess it is....is there such a thing as a "Good Monday morning"?? LOL - well, I hope your week is going well so far anyway *wink* I had a pretty quiet weekend, nothing earth shaking going on.  Kayla and I repainted her bathroom (with help from her very tall brother, lol) and I stamped a lot to get ready for some classes I have coming up! Like tonight - my Advent in August Christmas Card Stamp a Stack :-)  I also did some stamping for some swaps I am in, and I wanted to share one of my swap cards today.  This one is made using the Forever Young stamp set, which I love because it screams vintage to me, and I seem to be drawn to that style more and more!  I just love the silhouette images in this set, they make me think of fun summers, being a child, and not having a care in the world - too bad we don't find that out until we are adults, right??!  So, the base of this card is Cherry Cobbler, which I then layered with some uber pretty paper from the Timeless Portrait Designer Series collection.  I don't know if you can tell in the picture but I actually embossed the DSP with the Finial Press embossing folder and my Big Shot - looks awesome! (If you click on the photo it should let you get a closer look).  I then stamped my image in Versamark on Newsprint Designer Series paper, covered it in black embossing powder, and heat set it using my heat gun.  I tore the edges of my DSP, then sponged them using Cherry Cobbler ink - yummy!! The ribbon along the bottom is actually another pattern from the Timeless Portrait paper collection that I punched out using the Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punch, and then I ran it through my Crimper, which gave it those cool folds! The sentiment piece is done also using the Forever Young stamp set, and I added some Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon, one of our new silver mini brads, and a pearl.  I really like the way it turned out, and I hope my swap group does too - hey, I might not know any of them, but my name IS on it, lol!!!  If YOU like what you see here, and want to order any of the products I used, you can place an order in my online store or contact me and I will be happy to place your order for you! OR, you can earn these products FREE by hosting a workshop with ME :-)  I would love to come and stamp with you and your friends!!  Now, I am off to Physical Therapy and then back home to prep for my card class later on tonight - whoohoooo, stamping with my friends, what could be better??!!! I hope you all have a fabulous day - I will be back tomorrow with another swap card I did, but until then, take some time to STAMP SOMETHING!!!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Baha Breeze card stock, Timeless Portrait Designer Series Paper
Inks - Versamark, Cherry Cobbler classic ink
Stamps - Forever Young
Tools - Big Shot, Finial Press embossing folder, Black embossing powder, heat gun, Dotted Scallop ribbon border punch, Curly Label punch, large oval punch, Crimper
Accessories - Basic Pearls, Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon, silver mini brads