GraniteStateStamper - Michelle Ide, Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, Laconia, NH

Sticky Velcro that doesn't stick and Trendy Trees

Sorry that it's been awhile since I've posted anything.  I have been creating but with the warm weather, busy days filled with my daycare kids and evening baseball/T-Ball games the time has just been flying by.  I'm sure that you all can relate!

Trendy Trees is a stamp set that I've wanted since the first time I saw it in the Stampin' Up! 2009 Summer/Spring Idea Book & Catalog.  I love the simplicity of it but it's so versatile that you can use it to create cards and projects for all seasons and all reasons!  Here, I've used it on a card holder that I created this week.

 

Card Recipe (All SU!) : Stamps - Trendy Trees; Paper - Chocolate Chip Textured, Regal Rose, Garden Green, Whisper White; Ink - Chocolate Chip, Garden Green, Regal Rose; Accessories - Regal Rose 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Chocolate Chip 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Silver Eyelets, Crop-a-Dial, Dimensionals, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Scallop Edge Punch, Envelopes, Velcro, Paper Snips

I wanted to keep the layout on the front simple so that it can be used for any occasion.  It is created using one 12" x 12" piece of Chocolate Chip card stock along with 5 plain white envelopes.

It looks like a purse when it is closed but when you open it up there are spaces to hold at least 5 finished cards with matching envelopes (10 if the cards are thin)!

The white rectangle piece that you can see on the inside is sticky velcro that wouldn't stick!  I bought a pack of light duty velcro tape to use because the heavier stuff is usually over kill on cards and paper projects but when I put it on the Chocolate Chip card stock it wouldn't stick.  Every time I tried to open it  up the velcro would come right off the bottom.  I was ready to throw it away until I decided to read the directions and found out that it doesn't achieve a full bond for 24 hours.  I've never heard of this before but set it aside and when I went to open it the next day it worked perfectly.  Who would have thunk it!  lol

Let me know what you think ~ TFL!

Have a wonderful day and happy stamping!

~ Michelle

Trying Watercolor Mist without flowers

I wanted to create a card using this technique but without flowers and I really like how the letters turned out.

Card Recipe (All SU!) : Stamps - Jumbo Outline Alphabet; Paper - Watercolor, So Saffron, Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Sweet Slumber DSP; Ink - Riding Hood Red, Certainly Celery, Baja Breeze; Accessories - So Saffron Grosgrain Ribbon, Aquapainter, Paper Snips

The color combination that I used on my Mother's Day card is what inspired me to do this card.  I don't know if anyone picked up on it when they looked at that card but this pattern of Sweet Slumber DSP doesn't have a Certainly Celery stripe in it.  There are Very Vanilla and So Saffron stripes next to each other so I took my Celery Marker and colored over the Vanilla.  It was a little dark and splotchy while it was still wet but when it dried the color evened out and lightened up.

Have you tried this technique using stamps other than flowers?  If so let me know. TFL!

Have a wonderful day and happy stamping!

~ Michelle

*** Remember that until May 31, when you purchase 3 packs of Designer Series Paper you will get 1 FREE.  This includes the 4 specialty papers!

Creating a Branch Out look . . .

. . . using Lovely as a Tree stamp set.

I love the cards that I've seen created with the stamp set Branch Out but since I don't have it (yet) I thought that I'd try to get the same look using Lovely as a Tree and Itty Bitty Backgrounds.  The layout is this weeks Mojo Monday Challenge #86.

Card Recipe (All SU!) : Stamps - Lovely as a Tree, Itty Bitty Backgrounds, Hugs & Wishes; Paper - Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive Textured, Certainly Celery, Sweet Slumber DSP; Ink - Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Ruby Red Craft Ink; Accessories - Chocolate Chip Marker, Post-It Notes, Crystal Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Dimensionals, Certainly Celery Twill, Aquapainter, Scallop Edge Punch

To get the individual trees I used the Chocolate Chip Marker and colored each one.  The branches over lapped a little but once I stamped the leaves you couldn't tell.  The leaves are stamped using the Itty Bitty Backgrounds set with Certainly Celery and Old Olive Ink.  I used my heat tool to make sure the images were completely dry and then I stamped the flowers/fruit with Ruby Red Craft Ink and then embossed it with Crystal Clear EP.  To color the grass I used Certainly Celery with an Aquapainter trying not to touch the Chocolate Chip Ink because it would bleed.

For the inside I created a border on the bottom that copied the front of the card and then stamped the trees using Certainly Celery and the leaves using Old Olive.  TFL!

Have a wonderful day and happy stamping!

~ Michelle

I have such a hard time . . .

. . . coming up with cards for men.  I think part of it is that I really don't have many sets that are geared towards them but here is what I came up with using Nature Silhouettes.

Card Recipe (All SU!) : Stamps - Nature Silhouettes; Paper - Night of Navy, Brocade Blue, Whisper White; Ink - Night of Navy Craft Ink; Accessories - Crystal Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Dimensionals, White Taffeta Ribbon, Big Shot Die Cutting Machine, Sizzix Texture Plate Kit #4, Crop-a-Dial, Chit Chat Rub Ons

When I create cards for men I usually go for the Earth Elements (Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Really Rust, etc.), which would have worked well with this stamp set, but I decided to use blue and go for a monochromatic look with a little bit of white as an accent.

The images were stamped using Night of Navy Craft Ink and then embossed with Crystal Clear EP.  I stamped and embossed the tree/ground first and was a little concerned that the feet of the deer wouldn't look right but when I embossed him the feet just melted right into the ground.  I looks like he is standing in the grass.

The front layers are attached to the card with dimensionals with the ribbon wrapped around the entire front and then up through a hole that I punched using the smallest setting on the Crop-a-Dial.

To finish off the inside I could have stamped the deer image in the center of the card using the Brocade Blue ink but I decided to tuck the image to the corner and emboss it like the front.  TFL!

Have a wonderful day and happy stamping!

~ Michelle

Happy Mother's Day!

When the 2009 Spring/Summer Idea Book & Catalog came out in January I didn't realize that four of the new Designer Series Papers were specialty papers.  Three of them (Parisian Breeze, To The Nines & Sweet Slumber) are textured, heavy weight paper and Rockabilly is printed on glossy paper.  I loved the look of the Sweet Slumber so I ordered it and was pleasantly surprised when it arrived.  Not only are the designs beautiful but the texture and the weight are awesome.  You can use this paper for the base of your cards, how cool is that!

Here is a card that I made for my MIL using the DSP and the stamp set Heartfelt Thanks.

Card Recipe (All SU!) : Stamps - Heartfelt Thanks; Paper - Shimmery White, So Saffron, Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Sweet Slumber DSP; Ink - Riding Hood Red, Certainly Celery, So Saffron; Accessories - So Saffron Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals, Rhinestone Circle Brads, Scallop Edge Punch, Aquapainter, White Gel Pen, Paper Piercing Tool, Chit Chat Rub Ons

When I used the Chit Chat Rub Ons for the saying it looked really light on the So Saffron base.  It was a little hard to read it so I took my AquapainterSo Saffron ink and and highlighted that area.  It's a little darker in the photo above that it is in real life.

For the inside I tried to keep it lighter to match the front so I created a 1-1/4" x 5-1/4 border that copied the layers on the front.  To finish pulling it together I stamped the flower image using So Saffron Ink.  You might notice that a few of the petals seem to have a bit of red on them.  It is really there.  I didn't clean my stamp off as well as I thought I had but it ended up being a good accident because I really like how it looks.

Let me know what you think about my boo boo. ;-D

Thanks for looking and happy stamping!

~ Michelle

*** Remember that until May 31 when you purchase 3 packs of Designer Series Paper you will get 1 FREE.  This included the 4 specialty papers!

I'm sure that you've seen . . .

. . . the new water coloring technique that was shared by Connie Ingram at the Seattle Stampin' Up! Regionals. 

It is a super quick, super easy way for you to achieve a beautiful watercolor look without having to work on it for more than a few minutes.  Seriously, the most difficult part of this technique is cutting out the images after they dry.

Here's a birthday card I created using my take on this technique :

Card Recipe (All SU!) : Stamps - Embrace Life; Paper - Watercolor, So Saffron, Old Olive, Ruby Red, Whisper White; Ink - VersaMark, Old Olive, So Saffron Classic Ink Refill; Accessories - So Saffron Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals, Scallop Edge Punch, Aquapainter, Ruby Red Brads, Paper Piercing Tool, Chit Chat Rub Ons

The instructions for this technique are :

1. Stamp a large, outlined image (I used the flower image from Embrace Life) onto Watercolor Paper with VersaMark and then emboss it with Winter White Embossing Powder. 
2. Once the image has cooled down, mist it with water until it creates puddles in the embossed areas.
3. Color the areas by touching the tip of an Aquapainter that has been dipped in Classic Re-Inkers to the puddles.  The colors will spread through out the area and can be blended with darker colors.  Make sure to clean your Aquapainter between colors.
4. Let the image totally dry before you cut it out.  It took mine 10-15 minutes.  You can also use the Heat Tool to speed the drying time up.

I will be demonstrating this technique during my May Stamp Club class.  If you'd like to attend send me an email at michelle@granitestatestamper.com  or call me at 603-998-0118.

Have a wonderful day and happy stamping!

~ Michelle

A Baby, a Giraffe and Designer Series Paper

I'm going to a baby shower this weekend for my friend's daughter and wanted to create a special card for her.  She deserves all the happiness and I hope she likes this.  This giraffe is so cute.

Card Recipe (All SU!) : Stamps - Bundle of Joy (retired); Paper - Watercolor, So Saffron, Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla, Bella Rose DSP, Autumn Vine DSP (retired); Ink - Brown StazOn, So Saffron, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue; Accessories - So Saffron Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals, Scallop Circle Edge Punch, Aquapainter, Big Shot, Sanding Block, Stampin' Up! Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plate

Here is a small picture of the inside of the card.  Just click on it if you want a larger view.

I love using Designer Series Paper on my cards so I am excited to let you know that, only for the month of May, Stampin' Up! is having a special on it.

When you buy three packs of Designer Series paper (including our Specialty Designer Series paper) or 12" x 12" textured card stock you will get one FREE! (up to an $11.95 value)  How awesome is this!!

If you would like to take advantage of this limited time promotion contact your local demonstrator or, if you don't have one, feel free to contact me.  Also, you can place an order online by clicking on my "Order Online" button.


Have a wonderful day and happy stamping!

~ Michelle

It's not the first thing you see . . .

. . . but it's just as important.

We spend so much time on the front of our cards that it's easy to just stamp a saying on the inside and call it done but a few extra minutes and a little more stamping can make all the difference in your card.

Here are the insides of the last two cards that I featured on my blog.

 

This card was created using the SU! set Just Buzzin' By.  When I use any Designer Series Paper on the front of the card I also use a strip of it on the inside to tie them together.  The card on the left was finished off with the same bee image that was used on the front of the card.  For the card on the right I stamped the hive image using So Saffron and then stamped the saying over it with Real Red.

For this card I carried the Shimmery White card stock onto the inside and stamped it with the same flower image from the front.  Instead of using a Rhinestone Circle Brad on the center of the flower I used my Perfect Plum marker and colored a small circle and then dotted the middle of that with my white gel pen.

I know that I am a little excessive on the layers when I create cards but even simple one layer cards can be finished with a bit of Designer Series Paper or a small stamped image.

Have a wonderful day and happy stamping!

~ Michelle

I'm Just Buzzin' By

With another card.  Can you believe it! 

My stamping area used to be in my basement but, as nice as it was, it still felt like I was stamping in the basement.  So over the past few weeks I have been turning one of our spare bedrooms into my stamping area and I love it.  It's quite a bit smaller but I really like that I can look out the window and see the trees and sky.  It has sparked my creativity.

The colors from this card came from Kristina's Color Inspiration #50 (brown, red, yellow, turquoise and white) and the layout is inspired from MOJO84.

Card Recipe (All SU!) : Stamps - Just Buzzin' By; Paper - Watercolor, Tempting Turquoise, Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Tea Party DSP, Whisper White; Ink - Brown StazOn, So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, Chocolate Chip; Accessories - Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon, Dimensionals, Scallop Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Aquapainter, Tempting Turquoise Brads, Crop-a-Dial

Thanks for looking and happy stamping!

~ Michelle

Adding a little Bling to my Pizzazz

I loved how the previous card came out using the Rock n' Roll technique with the flower from Petal Pizzazz so I decided to use it again to create a card for my workshop.  I started with my old stand by color combination of Perfect Plum, Pale Plum and Mellow Moss and Fall Sketch #39 from Clean & Simple Stamping. 

When I went to do the Rock n' Roll technique the two plum colors just blended together and looked like Perfect Plum so I tried something different.  I inked the stamp with Pale Plum and then used my Perfect Plum marker to color the edges.  I really like how it came out.  What do you think?

Card Recipe (All SU!) : Stamps - Petal Pizzazz; Paper - Shimmery White, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Mellow Moss; Ink - Pale Plum, Mellow Moss, Perfect Plum Marker; Accessories - Scallop Edge Punch, Crop-a-Dial, Circle Rhinestone Brads, Chit Chat Rub Ons


Thanks for looking and happy Stamping!

~ Michelle