Stamp, Snip, Stick!

Happy Thursday!

When I first started this blog it was my goal to post something new every day for a month, but life isn't always cooperative.  Before Caden was born in April, I was a high school English teacher, and now that I've turned in my Teacher hat for my Mommy hat, I'm left with a classroom full of years worth of accumulated papers and materials to go through, pack-up, and/or throw away.  Luckily, my mom is retired and enjoys driving two and a half hours to help me, or it would never get done!  She came up yesterday and we spent several hours taking down posters and packing things up.  I'm ecstatic with my new job, but I must admit that the experience was bittersweet and left me a little emotional. 

So on to the good stuff!  I've been focusing on ONLY using the items that came in my starter kit, since I don't have any other Stampin' Up! products in my craft room, and I want to be able to show you what you can do with just the basics.  I have to say it is strange for me not to adorn everything I make with ribbon at the very least, but I really like the way that both of these cards turned out.  Best of all, it was so easy--just stamp, snip, and stick!

Here's the first one:

For this card I used Elegant Eggplant cardstock for the base and Old Olive for the background.  The image and the sentiment are from the Trendy Trees stamp set, and are stamped on Whisper White cardstock in Certainly Celery and Chocolate Chip Classic Ink. 

I love the way this card turned out!  I used Close to Cocoa for the base and Elegant Eggplant for the two and a quarter inch frames.  The flower, from the Eastern Blooms set, is stamped in Melon Mambo, Chocolate Chip, and Tempting Turquoise on two inch squares of Whisper White cardstock, and I popped the Chocolate Chip flower up with Stampin' Dimensionals.  The sentiment is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set, and is stamped in Chocolate Chip ink.

 I think that I may make a second version of each of these to jazz up, so that I can show you what you can do with just the basics AND what you can do with just a little more. 

I've had so much fun playing with my new goodies, and I hope that you are enjoying my blog!  Please leave me a comment to let me know you stopped by, and hit the Follow Me button before you leave!

Until next time,

Jessica

Let's give this stuff a try.

Happy Tuesday, Part 2!

Boy, Caden is sleeping like a trooper these past two days!  He's just getting over a head cold, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I am.  Since he was taking a nap when Eric left for work, I thought I would rip open some of my new paper and play.  I must say, I was amazed.  I had never used any Stampin' Up! products before (I know, crazy right?), and I don't think I will ever want to use anything else again.  This could be a significant problem, considering the number of other products I have stored in my craft room, but I'm sure I'll figure it out!

Here's what I loved: 1) The stamps' images come out so crisp and clear.  I must admit I was a little nervous when they came unmounted in the clear boxes, but it was worth it!  The stamps didn't smudge like so many others do, especially the clear acrylic ones.  (These seem a little extra smooshy to me.) 2) The ink is on a firm pad and dries quickly.  This again prevents the smooshing problem I've had with so many other products, and eliminates the issue of ruining my images by accidently smearing them before they are dry.  As an added bonus, the lid is attached to the ink pad.  It's designed that way to keep the ink near the surface of the pad, since it stores the pad upside down, but in addition to that ingenious reason, it kept me from losing the lid on my messy craft table and digging for it for five minutes!  Sweet! 3) The paper is perfect for stamping.  Ironic, I know, *insert sarcastic eye roll here* but it's true.  I haven't stamped on any of the colored cardstock yet, but I can tell already that I am going to use a LOT of Whisper White.

So here it goes.  My first two projects using the Stampin' Up! products:

This first card uses an image from the Fun & Fast Notes set stamped with Chocolate Chip Classic Ink on Whisper White cardstock.  I colored the image using Stampin' Pastels. The layer is Always Artichoke and the base is So Saffron, both from the Rich Regals collection.

This second card (cased from a sample image of a card) uses images from the Eastern Blooms set and a sentiment from the Tiny Wishes set.  The flowered branch is stamped in Chocolate Chip, the flower is stamped in Melon Mambo, and the sentiment is stamped in Certainly Celery (all Classic Ink pads).  Again, I used Whisper White, Always Artichoke, and So Saffron.  (Can you tell they love alliteration at Stampin' Up!? ;)

I accomplished both of these cards from start to finish in less than forty minutes, and that includes looking over the products and running up and down the stairs to fetch needed-but-forgotten items like scissors! (Chalk another one up for New Mommy Brain...)

I had fun putting both of these cards together, and I can't wait until I have more playtime!  I'm also really looking forward to incorporating my Cricut and Stampin' Up! products into projects for myself soon, so check back Cricut lovers!

Thanks for stopping by, and let me know what you think about my first two creations!  

Until next time,

Jessica