Stampin' Up Blends

The new Stampin’ Blends are on their way.

You can purchase them on November 1st.  I am SOOO excited for you to get your hands on them.  I played with mine today and they seem much better than the SU Blendabilities.  Here is the results of my playing today.

FAQ regarding Stampin’ Blends:

Q)  Are these markers the same as Blendabilities?

A)  Yes and No.  These are alcohol based markers.  However they have been reconfigured and are MUCH better than the previous product released.  I love them and would highly recommend them to anyone wanting to start learning how to use alcohol markers for card making.

Q)  Are these the same kind of markers as Copic markers?

A)  Yes.  They are an alcohol based marker.  Just like Copics, Spectrum Noir and several others on the market.

Q)  Why would I buy these instead of buying Copics?

A)  The price point on these markers is much lower than Copic markers.  I highly recommend them for someone that is considering trying it out but doesn’t want the commitment of a large investment.  Or the time involved in learning how to use Copic markers.

Q)  What kind of paper should I use?

A)  The very best paper for any alcohol based marker is a paper designed specifically for that.  I love using  Crafters Companion Spectrum Noir card stock.  However, with that said I have tested the Stampin’ Blends on Whisper White Thick card stock and you do get a nice blend.  The difference is marginal.  I would NOT recommend using an inexpensive card stock, like Walmart or Michaels brands.  They will not give you nice stamped images or blended coloring.

Q)  Are Stampin’ Blends refillable?

A)  No.  They are not.  Their price point is such that purchasing a new marker is less expensive than buying a refill.  You can purchase the markers individually.

Q)  Can I buy the entire set of Stampin’ Blends?

A)  YES. There is an option to purchase the entire set.   

Q)  When will the Stampin’ Blends be available to purchase?

A)  Nov 1, 2017

Stamp Club

Today is my birthday!!  Maybe I should be sharing birthday cards but I will do that one day next week.  So far, I have had a nice day.  I just talked to my daughter and missed calls earlier from mom and Marianne while I was at church.  I've decided to join the church I have been visiting for the past several months so ended up staying late today for "Pizza with the Pastor" for people wishing to join.  I'm hoping to join in November when Ashley will be here.

I had Stamp Club last week.  After designing a few more difficult cards in the past couple of months, I tried to make the cards simpler this month plus I die cut a lot of the elements to avoid waiting in line for the Big Shot.  It paid off and the gals noticed!!  I also concentrated on fall cards with one special card in honor of October Breast Cancer awareness.

This card uses some non-Stampin' Up DSP.  The local stamp store in Mooresville closed recently and I got a lot of their Bo Bunny DSP at a great price.  Vintage Leaves stamp set was used for the background on this card.  The die cut leaf is from Seasonal Layers Thinlits in Copper.  (It makes it easy to adhere if you use the Multipurpose Adhesive Sheet on the back of the Copper.)  The cup and sentiment is from Merry Cafe stamp set which is in the Holiday Catalog.  I love this set because it is very versatile.  I am not a coffee drinker but this set has sayings about tea and apple cider plus sentiments for fall, Halloween, Christmas and New Year.

I love the layout of this card.  The Rich Razzleberry (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") and Night of Navy (4" x 5 1/2") cardstock are layered with a piece of white cardstock as the top layer (3 1/4" x 5 1/2")  The only part that opens is the DSP (3 1/2" x 6").  The DSP is scored at the top and sandwiched between the Night of Navy and Razzleberry pieces.

This is our November calendar.  I used the Paisleys and Petals stamp set and thinlits.  The colors I used are Tranquil Tide, Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry, and Night of Navy - so fallish!

My favorite Painted Harvest stamp set!!!  No matter what color you use, the cards all looked wonderful.  The gals picked their colors and stamped away!

I had to use Ribbon of Courage for breast awareness month.  The DSP is some retired I found in my stash (love using up the old stuff to make room for new!)  I stamped the ribbon on scrap paper but the gals opted to stamp directly on the white.  The detailed stamp is stamped in Blushing Bride full strength.  The plain ribbon is stamped on top of the detailed stamp with Blushing Bride but stamp off first.

Swirly Snowflakes

I've been working on Christmas cards.  I am trying to come up with designs for my Christmas Card class.  It's a little hard thinking about Christmas though when it's 90 degrees outside!  It is hard to believe that it is 2 weeks into October and we are still in shorts!!  This is the kind of weather I left behind in Texas .... I thought!!

The cards I am sharing today use the thinlit die, Swirly Snowflakes.  I did not purchase the matching stamp set because I knew I had several sets with snowflakes.  BUT .... I love the die!!

For this card, I did a little watercoloring on Shimmery White card stock with Pool Party and Lemon Lime Twist.  I stamped the snowflakes (from Tin of Tags) with Versamark and embossed them with white powder.  I layered two Pool Party snowflakes on top of each other and adhered them with glue dots.  The copper swirls  and the punched out dots at the top are from the Swirly Snowflakes thinlits also.

This card didn't photograph well.  I used Be Merry DSP and stamped the sentiment from Christmas Quilt directly on the DSP in black ink.  I stamped a snowflake on each section of the die cut and adhered a rhinestone in the center.  Very easy card!

The snowflake cut out doesn't have to be just for Christmas.  Here I've used the Daisy DSP with the die cut and layered two more pieces behind it - white and Calypso Coral and I have a card that can be used for any occasion.  Don't you love that ribbon???  It's the Crinkled Seam Binding and makes bows wonderfully.

For this Christmas card, I used the Winter Wonder embossing folder (pg 37 Holiday Catalog).  I die cut three snowflakes with glitter paper (this color is retired.)  The sentiment is punched out with the Pretty Label punch.  I made this card using Mint Macaron - one of my favorite colors that is unfortunately retired.  I stocked up on it before it was all gone!

Sorry again about the photography!  Gonna have to fire the photographer!  This is a beautiful card up close - believe me.  I used the Winter Wonder embossing folder to emboss half of the snowflake at the top and half at the bottom of the Powder Pink card stock.  I used the Swirly Snowflake thinlit and cut out two triple snowflakes from Vellum paper.  I punched out the white snowflakes and adhered each one to the vellum.  Next I stamped the sentiment (retired) on Shimmery White card stock with Versamark and embossed it with white embossing powder.  I watercolored with Powder Pink ink on the Shimmery White paper and over the sentiment making it "pop."

I hope you have enjoyed these cards.  If you want to purchase any of the supplies, please contact me.  My contact info is at the top and you can shop in my store.  If you do, please use my October Workshop Code ZFFJKXYC.

HOPE - Ribbon of Courage

I made this card for one of the gals in my bowling group this week.  She has cancer and is just starting chemo.  She is such a sweet gal and is really suffering from this terrible disease.  I CASE'd this card from Pinterest and made a few changes.  Hope you get inspiration from the card.

Front of card

Close up of one of the panels.

I used Ribbon of Courage with Fresh Fig, Berry Burst and Sweet Sugarplum card stock.  The flowers are from a retired stamp thinlit (Botanical Blooms.)  The letters are also stamped from a retired letter set that I have but if you have the Letter Thinlits, they would work great!  (I don't!)  I stamped the letters with Sweet Sugarplum, then pressed my VersaMark pad on top and used Heat and Stick powder and glitter.