Blog Carnival Coming Soon!

During the past few weeks, I've been showing you some fun projects that I've made with my new My Digital Studio software. Starting this weekend, you'll be able to view projects that some of my demo friends from stampinaddicts.com have created on our blog carnival. Yahoo! I'll have a link on the sidebar, so that you'll be able to find the carnival easily during the next month. Saturday is the kick off...it's sure to be amazing and fun! Please join us there!

My Digital Studio will be available for purchase tomorrow, October first. You can order it through your demo, or emailing me, or ordering online. This is a great way to use those photos that are just sitting on your computer. (Yes, I'm lookin' at you! :-D I know about those photos that have never been printed.)

So, please come join us on this fun adventure of crafting digitally!

Blessings,
Julie

p.s. Q. what do you say to a tent with a split personality?

A. you're two tents

Bwahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!

CAS (Clean and Simple) Cards With Sympathy

Time for another Clean and Simple Challenge today. Here are the two cards that I came up with from today's color combination from the CAS challenge. I wanted to use Embrace Life because of the Reinker Spread technique and because I haven't used it much lately. You know, that's a great way to get your stamping mojo back, if you're in a slump...just get out a stamp set and/or a DSP or accessory that you haven't used for a long time (or never used! yes, I'm looking at you. :-D) and start creating.

These two cards were one at first. I had the image on the left and wanted to put the Reinker Spread flower on the same card, but it just didn't work. The styles were too different. So, it quickly became two cards. Unfortunately, I have need of both as sympathy cards. Guess it works that way.

Well, thanks for stopping by.

Blessings,
Julie

Autumn Leaves Digi Style

Today's project is another digi scrapbook page. I have hundreds of pictures on my computer that have never been developed because I love to choose the size and cropping of them myself. For this page, I used Sketch Challenge 29 from Stampin' Addicts for my layout. I thought the card layout transferred quite well to the scrapbook page.

And how sweet is it to have the journaling on the page in whatever color and size you want with a shadow??? Yes, I'm hooked.

I'll share a couple of projects tomorrow from last night's class. It was a great time! There was fire involved....Really! :-D

Well, thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station. I wish you many enjoyable hours of crafting.

Blessings,
Julie

I'm Stamping...Really...I Am!

I've decided to enter a special card into this month's Winter Wonderland contest through Stampin' Up! so I've been a little busy here. I don't have anything new to show you, so I'm giving you a sneak peak of on element on my contest entry. This is the sweetest Nutcracker and because he's so small, he doesn't take long to color. Yahoo on that one! After coloring him in with the small tip on my SU markers, I covered him with Crystal Effects so that he would have the patina of a lacquered toy. I'm not counting on winning, but I really put a lot of thought and dreaming into this project, so I hope it at least makes the board at convention next year.

Well, back to the stamp room to work on this week's class. I'll try to upload some projects from the class next week. Until then....

Blessings,
Julie

Tumbling Baby

I made this quite a while ago, but have never shared it with you. I was having fun with the All in the Family stamp set and my square punch. The cool thing is that you just stamp 4 babies and then punch them at different angles. The film strip is made with the double rectangle punch. As you go across the black cardstock, you line up the last rectangle with the punch and keep punching across. That way it stays pretty even. The word "baby" is from a retired stamp set, sorry that I don't remember which one. I colored the baby with my pink stampin' write markers.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station. Have a wonderful evening!

Blessings,
Julie

Remodel With Leftovers

Some of you made this card at a workshop this past spring. I love the card, but I have a few leftovers. Who wants to make the same card over and over again, right? So I used today's Clean and Simple challenge on SCS to remake this one.
And here's what I came up with. I love this whale image. Why don't I own this too cute set yet? I have no idea! I stamped this image at my upline's house and thought it would go great with the colors. The frame of the whale was made with my SU Table Setting XL die. I put the cardstock on the large tag/napkin ring and cut it with my Big Shot. Then I took the same piece of cardstock, turned it 90 degrees, centered it, and cut it again. I really like the way it turned out! The whale was punched with the 1 3/4" circle punch and the waves were punched with the slit punch. After punching the waves out, I dragged the edges on my Craft White ink pad, sprinkled Iridescent Ice EP over it and set it with my heat tool. The whale was colored in with markers. (The little goobers were from me trying to watercolor in WW...I'm not very good at that!) Quick and simple.

What do you think of the remodel?

Blessings,
Julie

Inspired Thanks

I just love this stamp set Inspired By Nature! It's so simple to use. Makes for a quick and easy card. This Thank You card was made with my Creamy Caramel, Perfect Plum (the color of my living room and dining room), and Old Olive SU markers. I stamped on Naturals White and used the stamping off technique for the grass to appear as a background. The sky was sponged with Bashful Blue. The trick to a light colored sky is to ink your sponge, sponge off on a scrap paper, and then sponge your sky. Works like a charm! The sentiment is from Upsy Daisy, punched out with the Modern Label Punch and matted with the Movers & Shapers Modern Label Die. Two gold brads and a couple of dimensionals to adhere the sentiment and we're done!

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station!

Blessings,
Julie

Cherries Jubilee

I played a challenge this weekend. We were to go to Lamadesigns.com, choose something that inspires us and make a project using that inspiration. I chose this beautiful and cheery Cherry Apron as my inspiration. The DSP is from the Christmas Cocoa set. I stamped the cherries in red on it, so that it would blend. One row of eyelet border is crimped. I used the large polka dot texture plate for the background white, stamped off for the lighter cherry images, popped up the focal cherries and spread some Crystal Effects on them to make the cherries shiny. The mat for the greeting was cut with my Movers & Shapers modern label die. The greeting itself was punched out with the Modern Label Punch.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station once again. Hope to see you back soon. If there are any stamp sets or techniques that you would like to see me use, please leave a comment here and I'll do what I can.

Blessings,
Julie

I'm Addicted!

Hello again! Yes, I'm addicted...addicted to SU!'s digital software. I wanted to participate in the color challenge from Stampin' Addicts yesterday, but didn't have the time to drag out my stamps. Well, why not just make one real quick-like on My Digital Studio??!! Yup, definitely easy to use and addictive. Since I hadn't played with all of the accessories, stamp sets, punches, and such, I just had to throw in a few new elements.
So, do you like the look of this one? I really like the perfect bow that I didn't have to tie. :-D
I'll try to control my digi projects and give you at least half handmade projects. In the meantime, I'm having fun starting my first digi scrapbook. Remember, October 1st is the release date. You can shop for it on the right side of my blog. Have a blast!

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,
Julie

What Do I Need Those Sanding Blocks For?

See those gorgeous poinsettia flowers? I used my new Petals A Plenty texture folder (in the new mini catalog) for them. Put a piece of Designer Series Paper in the folder, run it through the Big Shot, and then use your sanding block across the raised design. Because the DSP has a white core, the white will show up after sanding off the color. It also feels very soft, like flocked paper. Merry Christmas was stamped in Craft White and embossed with White EP. The little doodles around the sentiment were drawn on with my white gel pen. The holly frame was stamped in Old Olive and then the berries were colored in with the fine tip of my Real Red SU marker. A bit of White Organza ribbon finishes off this card.

I can hear you asking me, "So, what else can I use my sanding blocks for?" Ever had an ink smudge on your card? The sanding blocks take off about 50% of them. And if you're using SU! cardstock, the color goes through the core, so it won't really matter how much you sand off. You can also rub the block across your glossy cardstock vertically and horizontally and then brayer color across it. This is called the Faux Linen technique and it's a very attractive, subtle background.

Well, I guess that's it for now. Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station once again. I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Blessings,
Julie

Easy Christmas

Here's my weekly easy Christmas card. This one is quite simple. I stamped the holly frame in Old Olive and then used my the fine tip of my Real Red SU! marker to color over the berries. I markered the greeting inside and then colored over the stamped berries again. The paper piercing along the bottom is an idea from my friend Cheryl. A bit of grosgrain ribbon finishes this off.

This is the same card, dressed up a little. I used my color spritzer and my Olive and Real Red markers to create a frame around the holly frame. Very easy to do and maybe added 3 minutes on to the card. Both of these cards are quick and would make a great design for mass production.

Well, that's all I have for today. Come back tomorrow for a Christmas card with the same stamps, taken up a few notches.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station.

Blessings,
Julie

Digital Scrapbooking and Stampin' Up!

Oh my word, this is so fun!!! I'm not big into scrapbooking because I don't have a dedicated space to leave all of my scrapbooking stuff out. Yes, I have too much "stuff" and it would take a huge place. So, I need option. LOTS of options!

As of October 1st, Stampin' Up! will have their very own digital scrapbooking software called My Digital Studio. I now own it because as a demo, I was able to preorder. (Another great benefit of being a demo!) I also received a great discount because I attended Convention. (yahoo!)

Well, here's a look at my first page...

This was so much fun and quite easy, especially for my first time playing with the program. I love the usability of it and how everything coordinates with my SU! stamps and accessories.

This photo is of my son Nate's (the one in the orange goggles) family birthday party. The boy next to him is my nephew Aaron. As you can tell, they were having a blast swimming and doing the present/cake thing. Hurray for summer birthdays and pool parties!

Well, thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station again. I hope you enjoyed my first project with MDS and I hope to share more with you soon.

Blessings,
Julie

Autumn Splendor

I guess it's time for Fall to show up. I've seen the reds coming out in the trees and some dinner plate sized maple leaves have already fallen in our yard. Hard to believe that summer is over, but alas, time marches on.

I made this card as a thank you to my friend Carol. She hosted our Women's Bible Study group at her home for the kick off brunch. Yum!!! So, for opening her home, she deserved a special card. Yest the 5 leaves and 3 acorns on the bottom were cut out and pieced on after I sponged 3 colors for the ground color. Everything was colored with SU markers, including the pumpkins. I'm much happier with those pumpkins, than I am with the leaves. Well, next time the leaves will be better!

Tip: If you'd like darker and lighter shades of the same color with your markers, consider coloring some areas a second time so that those areas appear a darker color. Then use a marker that is a shade or two darker to accent lines and shaded areas.

Well, that's it for now. Hope you liked this project. I'll be hoping to post my first Christmas card of the week tomorrow. Until then, have a wonderful day!

Blessings,
Julie

CAS (Clean and Simple) Cards

CAS, Clean And Simple, with large open spaces and not a lot of fuss. It's getting harder and harder for me to follow these guidelines, but I always stick to at least one mat under almost every layer and at least one embellishment. Those two rules can really make the difference on your card. Here, I stamped the adorable stocking from Yuletide Christmas (from the Mini Catalog) in StazOn Black and colored it in with markers. The red stocking was colored in with Ruby Red and then the accents were highlighted with Bravo Burgundy.

Can you see the defect on this card? Up in the right, next to the bear, there's a smudge of red. I hate to re-stamp something when it's a perfectly good image, so I used my Color Spritzer and my Ruby Red and Old Olive markers to splotch color on the background. "Now you see it, now you don't." So, there's my tip for the day. Don't throw your image away, spritz some color onto the background.

To finish the card off, I matted the stocking on Old Olive, stamped "merry christmas" in Ruby Red onto Confetti White cardstock, attached the Always Artichoke 1/4" Grosgrain around the back, and matted again on Old Olive. Sweet and simple.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station once again.

Blessings,
Julie

Classy!

Today I played along with the Splitcoast- stampers color challenge. My Classy and Fabulous stamp set hadn't been used for too long, so I figured there was some way to use it for these colors. I think I really like this gal in Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive, and Basic Black! I made my designer paper piece with the flourish from Charming, adding it as a background for the sentiment and upper corner. The image was stamped in StazOn Black on SU! watercolor paper and then colored with reinkers and an aquapainter. I used my black marker to choose part of the words from the Coco Channel quote, sponged a bit of Eggplant lightly around it and stamped the flourish off twice before stamping it over the words. Hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station.

Blessings,
Julie

Things I Love....

You know, sometimes simple is more fun! I love the look of black and white and this Designer Series Paper from the new mini catalog is wonderful. The name of the paper pack is Night and Day...now isn't that appropriate? I think it's supposed to be a semi-Halloween themed paper, but I really love it for regular cards. Click here to see the paper pack. Ummm...yeah....I'll be having a lot of fun with this one! This stamp set is called Things I Love and it's one of the sets that we received free for attending convention. YES!!! Another wonderful benefit of being a SU! demo is the free sets! It's hard to see in the photo, but the circles are lifted up with dimensionals...it's quite a fun effect. "things i love" was stamped in VersaMark and then daubed with white chalk from my Stampin' Pastels. I love the chalkboard look that this has. I purposely left the white "halo" around the words so that it would look like a well-loved chalkboard. A bit of black & white gingham finishes it off. So...what do you think?

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station. Hope you have a wonderful week!

Blessings,
Julie

Build-A-Bear Workshop Razzleberry Bears

Oh, I'm having fun today! I used my precious cardmaking time to play on a couple of the challenges on Stampin' Addicts. The layout is Sketch Challenge 25 and the colors are based on Color Challenge 28. Aren't these bears fun? I just love them! Now that I'm thinking about it, there could be a really cute banner at the bottom with my Beary Wishes stamp set. Wouldn't that just finish it off nicely? I've used Faux Stitching around the DSP and watercoloring with my Aqua Painter and ink pads on my Watercolor Paper after stamping the bears, balloon, and birthday bag in StazOn Black. I tried to shade the bears a bit with my Sahara Sand. I'm not really good at watercoloring yet, but I'm working on it.
Here you can see the glitter that I added to the balloon, tissue paper, and flower. You can also see the paper piercing that I did with my piercing template and tool. After piercing, you just play connect the dots and voila! you're done. I usually adhere the glitter with my 2-way Glue Pen. It's easy, quick, and not messy.
Supplies used: Beary Best Friends stamp set; StazOn Black, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Dusty Durango, Sahara Sand inks; Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip cardstock; Watercolor Paper and Razzleberry Lemonade DSP; 5/8" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain; Paper piercing tool, template, and foam mat; Aqua Painter; mini glue dots and dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station. I look forward to hearing what you think about this project and stamp set! :-D

Blessings,
Julie

My Wonderful Friends!

My sweet blogging buddy Anne Harada sent me this lovely! Isn't that sweet???!!! She's an incredible stamper and I totally look up to her as a master creator of lovely things. And she gave this to ME! Honestly, I'm really, seriously feeling honored and unworthy. So, if you want to see a master at work, go check out her blog.

To pass on this wonderful charm, I have a few buddies.

1. Georgeann has a fun site with great themes to her posts. I LOVE her watercoloring. It's GORGEOUS!!!

2. Carrie is a new friend and sideline. I met her at convention and she is a sweetie! She has some great style going.

3. Joanne is someone I want to tag, even though she also received the award from Anne. :-D

4. Britiney is also a new friend and sideline of mine. She was one of the display stampers at convention! Yes, she's amazing!

So, thank you for checking out my blogging buddies. They are fantastic stampers and friends. I treasure them.

Blessings,
Julie

Build-A-Bear Workshop Workshops! :-D

Just look at this sweet little bear! Isn't she adorable? And did you know that she has the words "Stampin' Up!" on the bottom of her left foot? I think she's adorable!
Stampin' Up! has joined forces with Build-A-Bear. In the new Mini Catalog, you'll find many new Build-A-Bear tools. I love it! To celebrate the release of the Stampin’ Up! Build-A-Bear Workshop collection, Stampin Addicts dot com is giving away an exclusive Build-A-Bear teddy bear that was only available at the 2009 Stampin’ Up! convention. To enter all you have to do is write about it and join the Stampin Addicts forum.

Are you interested in holding a Build-A-Bear Workshop workshop? :-D I love the sound of that! Well, contact me and we can talk about a date to set up. And remember...bears aren't only for kids! They're also for the young at heart.

Sketch Challenge and More Christmas Challenges

Greetings! It's been so long since I had a chance to stamp! But I have a really good reason. We are housing a Korean student this year and she arrived on Thursday. Hurray...a girl in my house!!! She's wonderful, but it has meant extra work for me during the adjustment period. She would like to learn how to stamp, so maybe I'll be able to show you her creations soon. In the meantime, did I mention that I'll have a girl in my house? I think I'm giddy!!!! :-D
Now, on to the challenges. This first card is for the simple part of Georgeann's and my Christmas Card Challenge. I CASE'd (Copy And Share Everything) this card from a card displayed at convention. In less than 10 minutes, I made and put the whole thing together. The stamp sets are Tree Trimmings and Teeny Tiny Wishes. Colors are Real Red, Soft Suede, Bravo Burgundy, and Ballet Blue. The scallop edge punch was used for the upper piece of Soft Suede and it was finished off with 1/4" Real Red Grosgrain and Elastic Gold Cord.
This is a sketch challenge from Mercy. She hosts a sketch challenge every Tuesday. I really love the sketches, but I don't usually get to play. I'm glad to have the opportunity and inspiration today. I've used this sketch for two cards.
This first card also counts for the second part of George- ann's and my Christmas Card Challenge... a Christmas card stepped up a couple of notches. I've punched out the tree ornaments with the Large Oval and Scallop Oval Punches, with Scallop Oval Punches behind as frames. The cording goes in between the ornaments and their scallop so that it looks like they're hanging. The edges of the soft Suede are sponged for depth and interest. I punched out the greeting with the Modern Label Punch, punched holes on the sides with my Crop-A-Dile and threaded my ribbon through. The background swirls are from Baroque Motifs and the designer paper is the Soft Suede Paper. I "had" to add some glitter on the ornaments for the "pop" effect. Besides, shouldn't Christmas ornaments glitter a little?
This last card uses the same layout with a totally different theme and total effect. I just love this new stamp set called Greenhouse Garden. It's so gorgeous. If you click on the picture, you will notice that I've stamped the Medallion stamp in a couple of the corners in VersaMark for a watermark effect. The flowers were stamped in Regal Rose and Melon Mambo, Orchid Opulence and Rich Razzleberry, Lovely Lilac and Elegant Eggplant, and Crushed Curry and Dusty Durango. I used the Curly Label, Scallop Edge, Word Window, and Modern Label Punches. The DSP is Razzleberry Lemonade. A Circle Rhinestone Brad and White Taffeta Ribbon finish it off.

Well, this post was a lot longer than I intended. Hope you've enjoyed these projects. Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station.

Blessings,
Julie