What 2 Stamp

You've Got a Big Heart

This large scallop heart, the largest in the new Sizzix Big Shot Hearts Framelits set, deserves a big card of its own. That's because it's 5" tall! To make a card big enough to fit it, cut a piece of cardstock (I used Tangerine Tango) to 5.5" wide by 11" tall, then fold in half. The heart is cut from Beyond the Garden paper--so tropical! The die-cut flower is from the Fun Flowers die. I distressed the edges of the flower a little by pulling the paper apart and then inking the edges.

Rosette Die Video

Hi everyone. Hope you are enjoying a day off! I am spending time with my family, as we speak. I thought you might enjoy watching this video, made by Stampin' Up!, on how to use the new Rosette Die in the Occasions Mini catalog. It shows how versatile the die is, making everything from the tiniest rosettes to ones that are 10" wide:

Labels Framelits & a Card Cafe Project

I'm having great fun playing with the new Sizzix Big Shot Labels Framelits dies shown in the Occasions Mini catalog and this is the first project I have to share with you. Don't you just love the way the frames layer so nicely? The Apothecary Art stamp set fits the dies perfectly and provides some beautiful images to watercolor. Here is an up-close photo of the stamp:

This is one of the cards that will be offered at my next Card Cafe, on Saturday, Jan. 21, at 1 p.m. More projects will be posted this week, so keep checking back and I hope to see you there!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone! Ever since I first saw these great boots in the Wicked Cool set, I've been picturing them sticking out from under a house, like in the Wizard of Oz. Since I'll have to put this set away for a while after today, I thought this was the time to execute this idea!

To assemble this card, I fringed a piece of Wild Wasabi cardstock for the grass, then crimped a rectangle of Crumb Cake cardstock. I made a roof for the house by cutting a triangle of Cherry Cobbler and texturized it with the Square Lattice embossing folder for the Big Shot. Then I just colored those adorable boots and cut them out, placing them under the house. Of course, this special house has to have a rhinestone for the doorknob!

I'm off to throw something in the cauldron, er, uh, crock pot for our pre-Trick-or-Treat dinner. Happy Haunting!

Rag Purse

When Stampin' Up! first introduced the Big Shot in 2008, there was much talk about how the machine could cut through layers of fabric. I watched the initial presentation and thought, that would be great for quilters! Well, some other people have thought the same thing and recently, SU has introduced several ideas for quilting with the Big Shot.

One popular idea is to use the Scallop Square Die to make a rag purse, like the one here. To make this size, you cut 38 squares, which is easy because you can cut 8 at one time with the Big Shot. Then, sandwich a piece of quilt batting between 2 squares and sew an X from corner to corner. You end up with 19 total sandwiched squares, and then you sew those together, add some handles and a closure. Because this is a rag purse (meant to be a little rough on the edges), you clip the seams after they are sewn and then throw the purse in the washer and dryer to fluff up the seams, like this:

Clipping the edges is more work, so you can skip that step if you like.

You can vary the size of the bag, by adding or subtracting the number of squares used. Whatever size you make, I suggest sketching a layout plan before you begin, just to decide where the colors are going to go. To make fabric selection easy, many fabric stores sell sets of "fat quarters" that coordinate, so you can't go wrong. In my case, my hubby gave me this coordinating set of fabric for Christmas and said, "I know you'll do something with it." And when I saw that fabric, I just knew it had to be a purse!

A demonstrator more patient than me has produced a set of videos on how to make these purses. To view them, click here. You will need basic sewing knowledge, but not much more than the ability to sew a straight line. The whole project took only a little over 2 hours, which is my kind of project!
 

Halloween Door Hanger

We put out our Halloween decorations last week, and my son decided we really don't have enough! So, mommy's Stampin' Up! supplies to the rescue.

I made this little door hanger using the new Build-a-Bear die cuts for the Big Shot. I started with the basic bear, then added accessories from the Kooky Spooky die. The stamped phrase is from the Eat, Drink & Be Scary set, and I added a Mini Library Clip for detail.

Now we have a fun decoration for the hallway. I have a feeling I'm going to be making a lot of these projects--have you seen our Build-a-Bear Christmas accessories?? 
 

Color Choices

 

I personally love to play with all the possibilities Stampin' Up's colors have to offer. When I start a new project, I always pull out a few pieces of paper and play around until I find a combination that makes me happy. I realized today that I spend so much effort trying to find just the right card color, that I often forget the obvious choice--white!

For this card, I knew I wanted to use Dusty Durango and Summer Sun for my flowers, cut with the Flower Burst Embosslit Die. I also wanted to use strips cut from the Kaleidoscope Designer Series Paper for the stems. With all that color and pattern going on, I knew I wanted the base card to be simple and clean. It took me a minute, but I finally realized that Whisper White was the perfect choice.

So, the lesson of the day is don't be afraid to use a white card--it's a great "non-color" color!

Go Team!

 

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, my son's All-Star team is headed to the World Series! I'm the Team Mom, and I made each boy a few goodies for the trip.

Using my Big Shot and the Top Note Die, I made mini scrapbooks, putting in photos of each individual boy, as well as some team shots. Having a scrapbooker for a mom, my son is used to seeing photos of himself in books that he can flip through at any time. But I realize that a lot of kids don't have that luxury, because many of us keep our photos on the computer and never print them out.

When I handed these out, each boy raced to see photos of himself. These were quick and easy to make with the Big Shot and it was worth every minute when I saw the looks on their faces.

Bright Delights

 

There's nothing like rub-ons to make a card in 5 minutes or less! This card uses Bright Delights rub-ons, which are on the Last Chance List. I'm sure going to miss them!

The card's focal point is just a flower die cut from the Baskets & Blooms Big Shot die. It's mounted onto a piece of Chocolate Chip that was punched with the Wide Oval Punch, and secured with a Fire Circle Rhinestone Brad. As my son says, this one is "easy peasy, lemon squeezie!"

Cake with No Calories

 

Now, this is my kind of cake--no calories! This is another offering that uses the Pop-Up Cake die for the Big Shot. This particular card is going to a lovely lady who is turning 94 this weekend! I am blessed to know someone like her and she deserves a very special card. This cake die is perfect when you want to give someone a super-wow card.

 

I was looking for a way to add a little something extra to the cake, so I punched flowers using the Boho Blossoms punch. I then put a Mini Glue dot in the middle of a few of the flowers, and sprinkled with Dazzling Diamonds Glitter. This was a quick and easy way to add a little shine!

 

This is the front of the card, using the A Little Birdie Told Me set, which is on the Last Chance List. This set also was featured in yesterday's post, so check that out for another idea for this versatile set.

 

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