Just Because for CCMC306

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Chris Slogar

I really love the color combination in the challenge at Create with Connie and Mary this week. These are colors that I incorporate into so many of my cards.

I was torn between featuring the colors more prominently on this card and using the great new designer paper that was on my work table. As you can see, the designer paper won! It is Back to Black, and it will be great with or without color accents. Aren’t the patterns great?!

You can see more entries in this challenge at Create with Connie and Mary.

Card in a Box Class

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Chris Slogar

This is one of the Card in a Box Cards we will be making in class this week. There are still openings in the 7pm class on Thursday and in the 10am class on Saturday. Details are under the “Events” tab above. These cards fold flat to mail and are really fun to create. Please contact me if you would like to join us.

I used the new “Cupcake Party” set to create this card. I also used “Honeycomb Hello” which has fabulous sentiments that fit on our Banner Punch. The punch carried over from Sale-a-bration. The box base is my new favorite color – Blackberry Bliss.

Click here to see this week’s Weekly Deals.

Stamps 101

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Chris Slogar

I get a lot of questions about the difference between our types of stamps (wood-mount, clear-mount and photopolymer), how they are stored, and how to assemble them. Stampin’ Up! posted the video I am sharing below which shows the differences.

If you have a new catalog, I am sure you have noticed that many of the new sets are only available in photopolymer. Stampin’ Up! did not enter into the photopolymer market until they were completely satisfied with the quality of photopolymer stamps that they could provide. Our photopolymers are very sticky, and they produce crisp images. If you haven’t tried them yet, I know you will like them. Best of all, you get more images for the money with photopolymers!

Just a reminder – I have classes this week to make Card in a Box Cards. There is space available Thursday night at 7pm and Saturday morning at 10am. Please contact me if interested.

Wedded Bliss for PP198

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Chris Slogar

The Paper Players challenge this week is a wedding/anniversary theme. I was inspired by the pretty Crisp Cantaloupe print from the “Lullaby” designer series papers to create this card for the challenge. It is quite simple, with the dsp and paper-piercing stealing the show. I need to remember to pierce more! That little detail really adds a nice finish! The chevron stamp is from “Work of Art” and the greeting is from “A Dozen Thoughts”.

You can see more entries in this challenge at The Paper Players.

Tbt Shaker

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Chris Slogar

I am not sure how far in the past something has to be in order to be considered a throwback…but I showed similar confetti shaker cards made with the Polaroid framelit from “On Film Framelits” before Valentine’s Day (here). We typically need more birthday cards than Valentine’s Day cards – at least I do 🙂 – so I recently changed the design to include cupcakes and birthday greetings.

We made the card on the right in club last month. In addition to the confetti, it has tiny silver beads in the shaker, and the extra thickness of the beads allows the confetti to move around more. I like to use clear envelopes to enclose my confetti. They are less rigid than window sheets, and two sides are already securely sealed.

To make the shaker, put sticky strip around all four sides of the back of the polaroid frame, making sure to get close to the opening on the bottom edge. I have 1/8″ sticky strip that fits nicely; you may have to cut 1/4″ sticky strip in half lengthwise. Lay the clear envelope so that two closed sides are along the bottom and side of the frame. Sorry, it’s hard to see the clear sticky strip under the clear envelope.

Trim away the excess envelope and fill the shaker from those two open sides before sealing the shaker. To seal, use sticky strip between the clear envelope layers, following the frame edge. It is easier to put these last two lines of sticky strip in place before adding the confetti – just don’t remove the backing until the confetti is in place!

The confetti is made from coordinating cardstock using the fringe scissors.

Oversize Greeting

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Chris Slogar

Here’s another example of a large greeting as a focal point. This is a really quick card that simply relies on pretty designer paper and one large stamp. This stamp is from the retired set “Another Great Year”, but I will also use this card design with “Big News” (page 68 of the new Annual Catalog) when I get it! I have a big wish list from the new catalog, and “Big News” did make the cut for my first order. Just waiting on UPS now 🙂

A Birthday Toast

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Chris Slogar

Click here to see this week’s Weekly Deals.

This gal is from “In This Together”, a set of three girlfriend images in the new Annual Catalog. I cut her out with one of the Apothecary Accents shapes and added the greeting from “So Very Happy”. Do you recognize the embossing folder that I used on the Whisper White mat? It is “Stylish Stripes” which we saw in last year’s Holiday Catalog, and is now available again in the new Annual Catalog.

Many of last year’s most popular holiday products are still available, though they are not in the Annual Catalog. Please check out the flyer below to see what is available.

Download (PDF, 1.04MB)

The image on my card today was colored with our new line of markers, Blendabilities. I am sorry to say that while they do appear in the new Annual Catalog, they are not quite ready for distribution yet. Stampin’ Up! is telling us that they will be available in late June or early July. They are being held back so that supply can meet anticipated demand.

You can get Blendabilities as a Demonstrator, even as items in your Starter Kit. The colors that are currently available to Demonstrators are Cherry Cobbler, Coastal Cabana, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry and Skin Tones, with a limit of one of each per Demo. Please contact me for more info if you would like to get these.

There also happens to be a Starter Kit promotion going on through the month of June. In addtion to what is listed on the flyer below, Stampin’ Up! will throw in a Paper Pumpkin kit with each Starter Kit. (The Paper Pumpkin kit will be their random choice.) If you have a big wish list from the new catalog, you might like to join just so that you can get a discount on your purchases. The standard discount is 20%, but you will also receive a one-time 30% discount off an order of $150 or more (catalog value) if placed within 45 days of joining. There is no obligation to sell. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Download (PDF, 831KB)

In with the New!

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Chris Slogar

Today is the first day that you can order from the new Annual Catalog, starting at 2pm ET. The Retiring Products are also available through June 4 (or while supplies last), and many of those items are now discounted. There were also some good deals in last week’s Weekly Deals that are still available through today. While I can’t see the Clearance Rack this morning while they are uploading the new items, I would guess there will still be items there, too!

Now to my card…Blackberry Bliss is my favorite new In Color, and I used it here with another great new In Color – Hello Honey. Our local high school colors are Purple and Gold, so this is not too different. I have already made a lot of cards with Elegant Eggplant and Daffodil Delight, so I needed to switch it up a bit! I have also made a lot of graduation caps (see those here), so I was also happy to come up with a new design.

There is a big set of congratulations stamps in the new catalog called “Bravo”. There are 13 greetings in the set for $25.95 (Item 135380). The stamp I used here is my favorite from that set, although I know I will get a lot of use from the others, too.

There are many sets in the new Annual Catalog with large greetings this year. That makes designing cards easy because the greeting can be the focal point, as in this example. Please contact me if you would like to have a new catalog.

More Endless Birthday Wishes

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Chris Slogar

I had some Sweet Sorbet paper left over from Sale-a-bration, and had to pair the confetti print with the confetti in the Endless Birthday Wishes stamp set. I made these simple birthday cards on our note cards – the cards are 5″ x 3 1/2″, and they come in packs of 20, already scored with envelopes for $5.95 (Item 131527). These note cards and envelopes will also be available in Crumb Cake, starting June 2.

Here’s an even simpler card in my favorite brights, a single layer card also made on a note card. The watercolor chevron is from Work of Art, available starting June 2.

Have a great weekend!

Project Life Solution

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Chris Slogar

My daughter’s graduation has pressured me to get our memories organized! LOL!! In yesterday’s post, I showed the digital scrapbooks I created in a short period of time. Today, I have another memory keeping solution to show – my “Project Life Solution.”

I had a bunch of clippings to organize from Jen’s years in volleyball, and of course, pictures! Finding myself pressed for time again, I organized the pictures into our new Project Life pages. I sprinkled these pages into a book alongside clippings. I like the contrast between the bright photo pages and the black and white clipping pages.

Just for the record…Project Life pages are actually meant to be in a three-ring binder. Since I already had a post binder started with clippings, and I wanted the pictures alongside the articles, I went this route, and it turned out great! Project Life is easygoing like that 🙂

In some time periods, the pictures outnumbered the clippings, so there are several Project Life pages in a row. Jen picked out and wrote the cards – fun, easy and personal!

You can see a list of what is currently available in our Project Life offerings below, but check the store on June 2 when our full line is available. The cards, accessories and stamps are great for other papercrafting projects, too.

Item	Description	Price
135294	Variety Pack 12″ x 12″ Project Life Photo Pocket Pages 12 pages: 2 ea. of 6 designs.	$6.95
135298	Everyday Adventure Project Life Card Collection 100 double-sided, color -coordinated cards in 3 sizes: 4″ x 6″, 4″ x 4″, and 3″ x 4″	$15.95
135301	Everyday Adventure Project Life Accessory Pack 4 3″ x 4″ specialty cards; 8 sticker sheets; 1 acetate accents sheet; 8 wood accents; 2 epoxy stickers; 4 arrow paperclips; 1 roll washi tape (5 yds.)	$9.95
135304	Project Life Journaling Pens 2 pens (01 and 05)	$4.95
135346	Project Life Corner Punch	$7.95
135707	Cards & Labels Project Life Framelits Dies 5 dies	$24.95
135785	Project Life Day to Day Photopolymer Stamp Set 42 stamps	$25.95
136706	Project Life Au jour le jour (Day to Day Set in French)	$25.95
135787	Project Life Point & Click Photopolymer Stamp Set 26 stamps	$15.95