Stylin' Stampin' Squad Blog Hop - January 2014

Thank you so much for joining us for our January Stylin' Stampin' Squad Blog Hop!  Love is in the air and our talented group of design team members have a Whole Lotta Love Goin' On as we are excited to be sharing some NEW Occasions Catalog goodies and some Valentine's Day projects with you this month!

As you hop along, please be sure to comment and show some love on every blog!  We are always excited to hear from our followers!

You should have just left stop number 13 on the Stylin’ Stampin’ Squad  blog hop – Kristina of Mama's Sanity.  If so, you are in the right spot. If a link doesn’t work or you get off track, you will find  the full blog hop lineup below.

I'm so excited to show you my card this month.  When I saw the awesome Starburst framelit, I knew I wanted it for my very first Spring Catalog order.  And the coordinating Starburst Sayings just make me happy.

This card was designed based on sketch from PPA185.

Stamp Set(s): Starburst Sayings

Ink: Coastal Cabana

Papers: Coastal Cabana, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, Retro Fresh DSP

Accessories: Very Vintage Designer buttons, Calypso Coral Baker's Twine, Decorative Dots embossing folder (SAB2014 Sneak Peek!)

Last month, I participated in a Secret Santa exchange with my fellow blog hoppers.  I made this little box to house a couple little gifts for my recipient.

For the paper bow on top, I followed the instructions from HERE.

Of course, this box uses one of my favorite DSPs from the Spring Catalog, the Retro Fresh pack again.

The box itself was fashioned after combining a couple of different ideas (one of them was THIS ONE).  Wanna know how I did it?  Of course you do!  I made a pictorial just for YOU!

Thank you for coming by.  I hope you liked these projects.  Now, please go visit my good friend, Jennifer of NW Stamper's blog.

Blog Hop Participants:

1. Anastasia R. of Stampin' Blondie 
2. Cynthia R. of Ink-a-Doodle Creations
3. Dawn S. of Dawn's Creative Chalet
4. Kathy P of Katrina P's Creative Corner 
5. Pamela W. of Stinky Tofu
6. Diana E. of Stampin' Fun with Diana
7. Darla R. & Nancy K. of Stampin With Darla and Sisters 
8. Jamie H. of Unique Ink
9. Rose C. of Stamp with Rose
10. Kim R. of Stamping with Kim
11. Darcy J. of DJ's Stampin' Place
12. Bree R. of Craft-Somnia 
13. Kristina M. of Mama's Sanity
14. Annie L. of Love Me Cards
15. Jennifer B. of NW Stamper
16. Tonya B. of Stampin' with Tonya
17. Heidi B. of Stuck on Stampin'

Stylin' Stampin' Squad Blog Hop - October 2013

Thank you so much for joining us for the October Stylin’ Stampin’ Squad  Blog Hop! This month we are focusing on the Fall season. It’s the time of year when fireplaces start crackling with warmth and we dig out our sweaters. This month’s blog hop will showcase many of the Stampin’ Up! products that are available to make  Autumn themed creations. We hope you enjoy seeing how we use the products to create our projects and feel inspired to come up with some great projects of your own.

You should have just left stop number 10 on the Stylin’ Stampin’ Squad blog hop – Diana of Stampin' Fun with Diana. If so, you are in the right spot. If a link doesn’t work or you get off track, you will find the full blog hop lineup below. 

 

This month's project is brought to you by using the Thankful Tablescape Simply Created Kit.  There are lots of elements included in this kit to help you make beautiful table setting for 10.  Unfortunately, I don't do a spread for Thanksgiving like some do.  However, I watched Sara Douglass' presentation at Convention in July on how she used this kit to make a flipbook of her kids.  I was excited for many reasons.  I love thinking outside the box.  I love not having to do a full scrapbook page.  These 2 pages came together in no time at all.  Best thing is that these table setting thingies fold into a pocket for you to insert the menu, for which you can journal on.  Oh, the kit also comes with a Chalk Marker that writes like butter!

Hope this inspires and puts you in the mood for autumn projects.  Next stop is Rose.

Blog Hop Participants: 

1. Pam S. of Stampin' in the Sun!
2. Dawn S. of Dawn's Creative Chalet
3. Darcy J. of DJ's Stampin' Place
4. Jennifer C. of Happy 2 Scrap 4 Life
5. Cynthia R. of Ink-a-Doodle Creations
6. Jamie H. of Unique Ink
7. Kim R. of Stamping with Kim
8. Tonya B. of Stampin' with Tonya
9. Diana E. of Stampin' Fun with Diana
10. Annie L. of Love Me Cards
11. Rose C. of Stamp with Rose
12. Heidi B of Stuck on Stampin'
13. Bree R. of Craft-Somnia
14. Anastasia R. of Stampin' Blondie

Tag a Bag

Here's another project I brought back from Convention this summer.  You know, I must confess.  Whenever I see kits in the catalog, I usually skip right past them.  I always figured I could use materials I have to create the same things.  Problem #1: I NEVER create anything remotely close to those projects.  Problem #2: I am not creative enough to think outside of box.  One of the many perks of going to the convention, was that I learned to use kits to not only make my creative life easier, I also learned ways to use kits beyond what they originally were created for.

Here is a Tag a Bag Gift Bag, as intended.  You can find the bags on page 158 of the Annual Catalog.

Here is the same flat bag, with 3 score lines, create a standing sack.

How cool is that?!!!  I was totally giddy when I made this.  Score 1" from edge on the long sides.  Score 1 1/2" from bottom, horizontally.  Cut the 2 lines from the bottom to the horizontal score line.  Fold and tape bottom shut with glue or Washi tape.  Fill bag with goodies and decorate.

The stamp set used here is this year's Ronald McDonald stamp set, Tag It.  The entire image is from one stamp.  I used markers to color the individual components.  Everything comes from the Tag a Bag Bundle.  Pretty nifty, eh?

Stylin' Stampin' Squad Blog Hop August 2013

Happy Hop Day!  We are all so excited about this one.  We get to use goodies from the Holiday Catalog that just debuted on August 1st!  Whether you have come from Diana's blog or starting here, hop around with us, we're sure you'll find something fun along the way!

For my project today, I was inspired by what I saw at the Convention last month.  I could not wait to try my hand at this.  As soon as I got my order, I tore into it and made this fun banner.

You can see more samples on pages 12-13 of the Holiday Catalog.  The kits are on pages 30-31.  For someone who's always shied away from similar kind of offerings before, I'm so glad I finally got to see this item demonstrated on stage.  It was so easy!  The kit comes with 18(!) blank pennants, along with templates for the background and alphabet.  It comes with a spritzer.  But I'll tell you a secret.  I didn't want to bother with it, and I used a sponge.  I literally swiped the sponge across the templates and was done with a pennant in about 2 minutes.  Then, I used some items from the accessory kit to dress the banner up a little.  I also used the Festive Flurry framelits to cut the snowflake ring.  The whole thing really didn't take quite so long, if I wasn't experimenting with the best, easiest, and fastest way to make these.  I think this would be a great way to dress up my house.  I still have 13 pennants left.  I may use them to either do my kids' names, or make them for Thanksgiving ("thankful"?).  Any other ideas?  In any case, I can't believe there are 18 pennants!  You can totally do at least 2-3 banners with the kit.  Then, if you want more pennants, you can just get the refill kit, since you would already have the templates.  Even more cost savings right there!!!

OK, that was my favorite thing in the Holiday catalog.  I hope you will also give it a try!  Your next stop is with Jennifer.  Have fun!

Blog Hop Participants:

1. Shellie G. of Craft Smashup
2. Pam S. of Stampin' in the Sun!
3. Rose C. of Stamp with Rose
4. Tonya B. of Stampin' with Tonya
5. Dawn S. of Dawn's Creative Chalet
6. Darcy J. of DJ's Stampin' Place
7. Pamela W. of Stinky Tofu
8. Kim R. of Stamping with Kim
9. Heidi B of Stuck on Stampin'
10. Jennifer B. of NW Stamper
11. Bree R. of Craft-somnia
12. Diana E. of Stampin' Fun with Diana
13. Annie L. of Love Me Cards
14. Jennifer C. of Happy 2 Scrap 4 Life

Stylin' Stampin' Squad Blog Hop July 2013

Woo-hoo!  It's a celebration of birthdays for this month!  Either you came from Diana's blog, or starting from here, come along with us, and you are sure to be treated with some great eye candy.

For this month's hop, I really wanted to do something fun and a bit unique.  I have had the Dress Form and the Card Base Pop 'n Cuts for awhile, but never tried them.  I was inspired by the creator, Karen Burniston's video on using this great die.

I used so many products that it would be difficult to list everything.  But for the main part, I used Oh Hello and Make a Cake stamp sets.  Gingham Garden DSP.  Main cardstock colors are Daffodil Delight and Melon Mambo.  Oval Framelits, Dress Form & Card Base Pop 'n Cuts.  I love using this die to create a 3-D card that can be mailed.

And did you catch what I've got on the inside of this card?  It's Stampin' Up!'s 25th Anniversary this year.  And I'm going to the annual Convention with 5499 other demonstrators!  I'm so looking forward to the party that is sure to rock the house.  If you want some inside scoop while I'm there, I will be posting to my Facebook Fan Page.  If you're not a fan, please Like Me, so that you can follow my first-ever SU Convention Coverage!

For now, I will send you onto Jamie to discover what cool project she has in store for you!

Blog Hop Participants:

1. Pam S. of Stampin' in the Sun!
2. Rose C. of Stamp with Rose
3. Tonya B. of Stampin' with Tonya
4. Dawn S. of Dawn's Creative Chalet
5. Darcy J. of DJ's Stampin' Place
6. Pamela W. of Stinky Tofu
7. Kim R. of Stamping with Kim
8. Jennifer B. of NW Stamper
9. Bree R. of Craft-somnia
10. Diana E. of Stampin' Fun with Diana
11. Annie L. of Love Me Cards
12. Jamie H. of Unique Ink
13. Jennifer C. of Happy 2 Scrap 4 Life

Stylin' Stampin' Squad Blog Hop February 2013

Welcome to this month's Stylin' Stampin' Squad's Blog Hop! Our theme this month is all about FABRIC!  I'm so excited to show you what I've got, so let's dive right in, shall we?

I had this idea to try cutting fabric with framelits.  I think I've heard rumors that it's possible, but I don't recall any specific blogger's post about it.  So, I thought, what the heck, I will just try it for myself.  Well, what do you know?  They really DO cut fabric!  Awesome.  One caution... you should probably shim your Big Shot, as fabric is very thin compared to card stock.  Or, make sure you have really sharp fabric scissors around to help loosen the cut fabric.

So, this is what I made:

Originally I only had a flat piece of fabric for the bottom of the skirt, cut with framelit.  But it looked so... flat, as if it were paper.  I was worried you wouldn't be able to see the difference between my fabric version vs. a paper version.  So, I took another piece of fabric on the table, folded to make the skirt look fuller.  That was the look I wanted.  Now onto adhering.  I took out the old needle and thread, then didn't really know what I should do about it.  Haha.  Pulled the thread back out.  Decided to use fabric adhesive instead.  Ok, this was the liquid kind that I bought at the store.  But if I wasn't so lazy, and went to find my fabric adhesive roll, it would probably be better, without getting goo on my hands.  Anyways, in the end, that's what held my fabric top and skirt down, fabric adhesive.  I put it on the back of the ribbon, too, to make sure that stayed.  I cut off the prongs of the brad, so it could lay a little flatter.  Oh, lastly, the pearl strand was added, because, you know, every woman needs to have pearls. :)

My second project is a hand warmer.  Made with, what else?  Staying true to my obsession with using our Scalloped Square die to cut fabric.  This was originally something I saw on Pinterest.  You can do this with any size you want.  But I love using our Scalloped Square die, because you just sew up all sides, leaving a hole, big enough to fill with your rice/lavender mixture, then sew up the rest of the way.

This is how I sew up the opening.  I use pins to help the rice from moving too close to the sewing needle.  When it's ready to use, just microwave it for 30 seconds, and it will keep your hands warm during the cold days of winter.  If you make bigger ones, you just heat for longer.

Hope you liked these projects.  If you do, please kindly leave me some comments.  I love reading your notes.  Now, please hop on to the next stop with Nancy.

Blog Hop Participants:

1. Shellie G. of Craft Smashup
2. Annie L. of Love Me Cards
3. Nancy B. of Lady Stamps-A-Lot
4. Rose C. of Stamp with Rose
5. Tonya B. of Stampin' with Tonya
6. Dawn S. of Dawn's Creative Chalet
7. Pamela W. of Stinky Tofu
8. Kim R. of Stamping with Kim
9. Justin K of JK Cards
10. Heidi B of Stuck on Stampin'
11. Jennifer B of NW Stamper
12. Bree of Craft-somnia
13. Diana E of Stampin' Fun with Diana
14. Darcy J of Dj's Stampin Place

Freebie Friday!

For once, I think my promise is coming true.  Here is my feeble attempt at making the directions for the desktop calendar you saw yesterday.  You can click on the photo to make it bigger.

In addition, here are some more layouts for you.  I started making these from a special request.  The original idea was CASE'd from Barbara Bockman.  It was a swap card that I received from Regionals last year.

Stylin' Stampin' Squad Blog Hop December 2012

It's time for our monthly Stylin' Stampin' Squad Blog Hop again!  It's hard to believe the year is drawing to a close.  We have some fabulous projects to show you this month.  Please hop along all the stops to see what all the fabulous ideas we have for you.  And better yet, please kindly leave us some love with your comments.  We LOVE seeing comments on our posts!

This month's theme is Holiday.  This is what I made.

I followed the directions (with modifications) from HERE.  I'll write up what I did in the next couple of days.  I took pictures, but need to make it coherent for you to follow. :)

Personally, I love hot cocoa, especially during winter time.  So I thought making a small giftbox that fits the cocoa packets is the perfect little gift for a neighbor or a good friend.  I coupled it with a 4"x4" card.

My Supplies List (all supplies and images by Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):

Stamp Set(s): Scentsational Bundle

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso

Papers: Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green, Be of Good Cheer DSP

Accessories: Simply Scored, 1" circle punch, Scentsational framelits

P.S. Thanks to Jennifer, who let me use her stamps and framelit for this project! :)

Hope you liked this project.  Please continue to the next blog with Pam.

Blog Hop Participants:

1. Shellie G. of Creative Electica
2. Annie L. of Love Me Cards
3. Pam S. of Stampin' in the Sun!
4. Nancy B. of Lady Stamps-A-Lot
5. Rose C. of Stamp with Rose
6. Tonya B. of Stampin' with Tonya
7. Dawn S. of Dawn's Creative Chalet
8. Darcy J. of DJ's Stampin' Place
9. Kim R. of Stamping with Kim
10. Terry B of Goin' Over the Edge
11. Justin K of JK Cards
12. Heidi B of Stuck on Stampin'
13. Jennifer B of NW Stamper