Winter Wonderland

Hello Heart of a Stamper Community! It's "been a minute" I know... 2019 was... well, it was "something else!" The important thing is that 2020 has arrived and with a new year comes new beginnings, second chances, and the feeling that EVERYTHING is fresh and new! So why not jump right in to this fresh year with some new projects?

My first make of the new year comes in the form of these cute accordion booklets. These booklets feature the adorable Doodlebug Design line "Winter Wonderland." We don't see much snow here in Vegas, but this line was so cute, I just HAD to have it, anyway!

I've created two versions of my booklet to offer you some options on the types of embellishments you choose and how your booklet will be enjoyed.

Booklet #1: All Yeti for Winter

This is the simplest and most straightforward method of creating your accordion booklet.

1. Select your cardstock and trim to 12" x 4".

2. Along the length, score your cardstock at three, six, and nine inches.

3. Fold the cardstock, alternating directions as you go, to create the accordion.

4. To create a pretty ribbon closure, secure ribbon to the back page of your booklet before covering with cardstock or patterned paper. For attaching your ribbon, I recommend a strong tape adhesive. I used Stampin' Up! Tear & Tape (ID#138995).

5. Now you're all set to decorate your booklet however you choose! For this style, you won't want to use anything too thick or chunky on the inside pages, or you'll encounter closure issues.

Select embellishments such as die-cuts and ephemera for style #1. By leaving the centers of my banners loose, I can easily slip in fun winter photos to create a sweet keepsake of a special day.

Booklet #2: You Warm My Heart
Want to use chunkier embellishments or have an option to hang your booklet for display? Look no further than the chipboard method.

1. Trim a piece of chipboard to 12" x 4".

2. This time, instead of scoring every three inches, you'll want to cut the segments apart.
     **Tip! Keep an older trimmer blade on reserve for use with chipboard only. Old blades may not cut your paper as cleanly as they once did, but they are perfect for getting through chipboard. You may need to make a few passes to cut all the way through. I recommend flipping the chipboard over between passes for best results.

Step 3

3. Run two strips of ribbon along the length of your chipboard pieces, securing with Tear & Tape. Align your ribbon carefully from page to page, ensuring that your gaps are even; the size of your gaps depends on the thickness of your chosen embellishments for the interior pages. The larger the gap, the more space for bulky add-ons.
    **Tip! If you'd like to create a hanging booklet, extend the ribbon beyond your top piece, leaving enough length to tie a pretty bow.


4. Cover the front and back of each section with your chosen cardstock or patterned paper.

Step 5

5. Decoration time! For this style, try popping up die-cuts with Stampin' Up! Dimensionals (Item #104430), or use some adorable Doodle Pops like I did here.

Cold winter days are perfect for staying warm inside with a cuppa tea and your favorite craft supplies, and they offer the perfect opportunity to try out an accordion booklet yourself!

From my heart to yours... happy stamping!

Sarah Grace

Love Is In the Air: Part Two

Last week, love was in the air with two takes on Valentine's Cards. This week, let's spread that love even farther with some gifties!!

Who doesn't love a sweet, romantic candle? In just a couple easy steps, you can create a lovely candle for that special someone...or even yourself! You'll need stamps, ink, tissue paper, wax paper, a heat gun, and of course a candle! You can almost always find plain pillar candles at your local dollar store, or dollar bin section at the grocery store.

First, you'll stamp your image on the tissue paper. For this candle, I chose stamps from the Meant to Be set. I used sponge daubers in Lovely Lipstick and Flirty Flamingo to create an ombre effect on the heart. Once your design is done, trim down your tissue paper to fit the candle.

Now for the really FUN part!! smooth your design onto the candle and cover with wax paper. Be sure to trim your wax paper long enough to give you a "handle" in the back. You'll want to watch your fingers as you work. Don't forget that heat guns are hot!!

Finally, you'll want to work the heat gun over the image until it holds. You'll notice the image looks a bit shinier as the magic happens. Pull up the wax paper carefully, if the tissue lifts up with it, lay the wax paper back down and carefully go over the area again with your heat gun.

Tips: Don't leave the heat focused in one area too long, and if you start to see bubbling, pull back right away.

So we've got cards and candles, what could possibly be missing?? Chocolate, obviously!! lol These new Sweet Cups available in the Occasions catalog are SO cute! Don't you agree? These little cups are the perfect blank canvas for any occasion. To make mine Valentine's Day ready, I picked out a cute patterned paper and this adorable little skunky...Isn't he just stinkin' cute?? hehe See what I did there??

The paper is trimmed, and our furry little friend is colored; the only thing left to do is add chocolate and a pretty bow!

For this "cheat" bow, wrap a piece of ribbon around your Sweet Cup and hold with Tear & Tape Adhesive. Loop another piece into your bow shape, and wrap with a third, smaller piece. Hold your bow together and attach to the cup with additional Tear & Tape. Voila!

Now you have the secrets to filling the air with love this Valentine's Day! Hit the dollar store for some candles and candies and get busy crafting!!

From my heart to yours...happy Stampin!

Sarah Grace

Full Product List:

Meant to Be Cling Stamp Set: 148626

Hey Love Cling Stamp Set: 148644

Sweet Cups: 148573

All My Love DSP: 148576

All My Love Ribbon Combo Pack: 148584

Heat Tool: 129053

Many Marvelous Markers: 147154

Lovely Lipstick Classic Stampin' Pad: 147140

Flirty Flamingo Class Stampin' Pad: 147052

Stamping Sponges: 141337

Need these in your life? Click below to solve that problem!

http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/heartofastamper/

Love Is In the Air: Part One

Valentine's Day is right around the corner! Have you already thought about what cards and treats you're going to make for your loved ones, or do you need a little inspiration? Well... Look no further! In today's blog post, I'm going to share some of the projects from my Love Is In the Air Valentine's class. With these ideas, you'll be ready to spoil your sweetheart, kids, and best friend in no time!

In Part One of a two-post series, I'm sharing ideas for Valentine's cards. My first card features stamps and dies from the Meant to Be Bundle. This set is a must-have! Not only are the stamps lovely, but these are some of the most versatile dies around! If you stop and think about it, what occasion doesn't involve love in some way? No doubt you'll be using this bundle all year long! Plus, several of the dies feature stitching which is oh so popular right now! For the color palette, I chose black and white with pops of Lovely Lipstick for a clean look. I love how it turned out with a bit of retro 80's vibe.

Add even more visual interest with details on the inside of your card. Here I've stamped my sentiment on a scrap of cardstock, torn and inked the edges, and adhered with Tombo glue.

Repeating your stamped image lends another thoughtful touch to your design.

For the second card, I stepped things up a bit and went for texture, texture, texture! For this card, I again used the Meant to Be Bundle and added a stamp from the Forever Lovely stamp set, as well. To attain all this texture, use a combination of techniques and products, including tone-on-tone stamping, texture embossing with foil paper, and layering the banner and die-cuts. Add a few epoxy hearts, and don't forget to pop up your elements with Dimensionals!

Don't you love the holographic effect of this foil paper?! Using an embossing folder multiplies the effect for greater impact. I also heat embossed my sentiment for even more texture.

Note that both cards feature the Sale-A-Bration exclusive Lovely Lipstick and Grapefruit Grove foil paper, along with decorated envelopes. Look below for a list of products used to make these lovely and love-inspired Valentine's Day cards.

And if you haven't given decorated envelopes a try, I insist that you do. Trust me, you'll be hooked and grateful that you are!!

From my heart to yours...happy stamping!

Sarah Grace

Meant to Be Cling Bundle 150587
Forever Lovely Photopolymer Bundle 150580
Grapefruit Grove & Lovely Lipstick Foil Sheets 149712 (SAB)
White Stampin' Emboss Powder 109132
Pick A Pattern Washi Tape 144166
Tufted Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder 146335
Heart Epoxy Droplets 148583

Sparkling Butterfly

Last week one of my Facebook groups posed a challenge to use a neglected or forgotten die-cut. I thought it was an exciting opportunity because I have plenty of such dies in my arsenal. When I looked through my collection, I found several that sparked my interest, and I ended up using three different dies!! All of which, mind you, I'd never used.

I knew right away I wanted to incorporate the new Sale-A-Bration Lovely Lipstick foil paper. I had no doubt it would make a beautiful butterfly! I already had the design in mind, so it was only a matter of choosing some coordinating cardstock, and I was ready to make my card. Mint Macaron and Bermuda Bay won that challenge.

A little tip to really make your butterflies soar off the page: use your bone folder to gently bend the wings. Start from the body, and gently curve the wings up and over the point of your bone folder.

For the ombre effect on my words, I used a sponge and Lovely Lipstick ink, inking each "love" to the desired level of color. I love the level of control a sponge lends, and the variation of color from the holes adds extra depth.

A sprinkling of gold glitter flakes is the perfect finishing touch.

Tip: Use the Take Your Pick tool and tiny dots of multipurpose liquid glue to easily place your glitter flakes.

I can honestly say, this is one of my favorite creations. While the design is clean and simple, the foil paper and glitter flakes add that extra pizazz and push this card into the "showpiece" world...without all of the extra work 😉

I encourage you to grab your foil paper and sequins and add a little sparkle to your next project.

From my heart to yours...Happy Stamping!

Sarah Grace

Flashback Stamp-A-Stack

Hello!! Long time, no see! As much as I'd hoped to get a regular blog posting schedule going after my first OnStage experience, I just wasn't able to manage it at the time. But I'm back now and eager to share with you!

Today I hosted my first class of the year. I wanted to give my girls a great jump start on their card stash for the year, so I taught my first Stamp-A-Stack class. Before diving head-first into the brand new Occasions catalog, we had a little blast from the past! (With a sprinkling of the new just to see how fun it is to mix your old and new products!) We made 20 (that's right T-W-E-N-T-Y) cards today! I pulled out my favorite set of retired In Color products (2016-2018) and an assortment of stamp sets from Paper Pumpkin kits and various catalogs (including "Life is Grand" - from the brand new Occasions catalog), and we made sets of cards, assembly-line style.

When you keep the designs simple, it's easy to make a high volume of cards in no time flat. Seriously, the most time-consuming aspect of this endeavor was cutting all the paper. Aren't my students lucky I did that part for them ahead of time?? hehe

Take a look below for a close up of each card.

Color: Peekaboo Peach; Stamp Set: So Very Much

Color: Sweet Sugarplum; Stamp Set: Life is Grand

Color: Emerald Envy; Stamp Set: Bold Botanicals

Color: Flirty Flamingo; Stamp Set: Watercolor Words

Color: Dapper Denim; Stamp Set: Birthday Bundle

I think today's projects prove that it doesn't require every toy in the box to create a lovely card for that special someone. It's wonderful to make what I call a "showpiece" card every now and then, but my love will always be for the clean and simple. 

I challenge YOU to grab a few favorite colors of cardstock and ink, some coordinating DSP, and maybe a little ribbon or some pearls, then grab a beverage, find your comfy working spot, and create some clean and simple beauty today.

From my heart to yours. Happy Stamping!

Sarah Grace

In Color Memories

Well thank you so much to my finicky computer...this post is two days late. You know, sometimes life happens, and it has been a CRAZY couple weeks!! But enough of all that...time to talk crafting!

In November, I went to my first Stampin' Up! OnStage event. This isn't your ordinary, dull convention, it was a truly AMAZING and life-changing experience! I met SO many new people, made several new friends, and left with my head full of new ideas.

So part of the tradition when you travel for OnStage is to create handmade gifts for your roomies. Let me just say, this part of the experience can be an adventure all its own. Never in my life, would I have thought I'd end up sleeping in a bunk bed and sharing a bungalow with six other women! So not only did I need to create something unique and special, I had to do it in volume!

I knew two things without a doubt...Number One: I wanted to use the newest In Colors (especially since one of those colors matches my car - there I go, settings trends!! haha) Number Two: I wanted to create a keepsake that my roommates could use to display their OnStage memories. I thought of altering frames, among a couple other ideas, but I couldn't find enough matching items in stock. Then I realized that I already had the perfect items at home. I'd bought a bulk of composite clipboards for another project, and decided they would make PERFECT memory boards!

To ensure my gifts were special for each lady, I decided to personalize each one with a monogram, and of course, I had to make one for myself, too. Now I get to share it with each of you!

For the "graffiti wall", I sponged each of the In Colors on a section of the Wood Words floral stamp. I used the Labeler Alphabet set to stamp the sentiment. After my stamping was done, I ran the cardstock through my Big Shot using the Brick Wall EF. For the monograms, I used the Letters for You stamps and cut them out with the coordinating dies. I popped them with Dimensionals to create the effect of "signs" on the wall.

From there, I built on up to the clouds. The large rectangle fits a 4" x 6" photo, and the white circle in the balloon can hold a small photo or space to jot a small note. For the final touches, the hot air balloon banner and clouds carry the event name and date.

I won't need to make roommate gifts for the next OnStage because it will be a local event in my own town!! Super exciting! I will, however, be making myself a new keepsake.

From my heart to yours...Happy Stamping!

Sarah Grace

Winter Feeling

Even though it's mid-January, we're going to take one last look at Christmas for today's post. I WAY underestimated the number of Christmas cards I needed last year and had to make additional cards...several times! 😓 BUT! Some good came out of that extra work. I decided to combine my Stampin' Up! products with some favorites from other companies. I not only created a card I loved, but I also found a fun new way to use one of my favorite products: Nuvo Drops.

Because we Vegas folks don't see much of the white stuff, I really wanted to amp up the feeling of winter! I used white embossing powder on my sentiment and was intentionally "messy" with it, leaving some powder behind to create the feel of a snow flurry.

Now...for the fun with the Nuvo drops!! I applied a heavy drop of Nuvo to the cardstock, then pulled a straight pin from the center straight up and down, and along both sides and all diagonals to create a snowflake!

TIP: When trying this technique at home, be aware that your drop will mostly likely crack some in the middle from being pulled. To combat this problem, apply an additional drop to the center when your snowflake is almost dry. I recommend practicing a few times on a scrap piece before moving to your project. (You'll see in the photo above that the first snowflake has a crack in the center).

For this card, I turned to the adorable House Mouse line from Stampendous! I cannot get enough of those cuddly little critters. I colored these adorable mice with my Stampin' Write markers. Having both a brush tip and fine tip make these markers perfect for highly detailed images. One look at the finished hot cocoa image, and I knew the coffee ring pattern from Coffee Break DSP (Item#144155) was just the right paper to pair it with!

Last year's miscount had a silver lining, but trust me, lesson learned. This year I'll be working on Christmas cards MUCH sooner than last year...

From my heart to yours...Happy Stamping!

Sarah Grace

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