Occasions/Spring Catalog ’15

Freshly Made Sketches #172

February 4, 2015 Jentimko 8 Comments

Well, didn’t I tell you that the sketch for this week at Freshly Made Sketches was great?! My friend Linda Callahan created this one for us and I love it. The minute she sent it to me I knew we had yet another winner on our hands. And we have so many cool variations this week from our team.

Have you ever had a technique that you’ve been wanting to try but somehow it keeps going to the back burner? That is how I felt about partial die cutting with letter thinlits. I know that there are products out there with certain words that create something like this but with this technique, you can use whatever word you want. The Little Letter Thinlit Dies are PERFECT for this one! I seem to have a bit of a theme going this week using the Stacked with Love DSP Stack. I find that crafting seems to go like that for me sometimes. I find something that works and I stick with it!! As I was starting to figure out how to explain this technique I realized it was just easier to make a video tutorial. So that is what I did!

As I said in the video, it took me a couple of tries to get the letters lined up just right so that I didn’t cut them out completely. I recommend you practice once or twice with scrap paper before going to your DSP. Having the thinnest held together with washi tape make it easy to repeat this and play with the idea. Once you get the cutting part, the rest is easy and quick.

I have another card ready to share with you on Friday that uses this great paper again. And then this weekend I’ll be going to a local demonstrator event and I’m sure I have fun things to share from there. I have helped design a card for the get-together and plan to share with you on Sunday. I seem to be getting back into the groove of stamping again and look forward to more this week. Until Friday, I hope you have a great week! Thanks for stopping in.

Click HERE to purchase these wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamps: Forever Florals (sentiment); Paper: Stacked with Love DSP Stack, Whisper White; Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Big Shot, Little Letters Thinlits, Black Baker’s Twine, Buttons

Hello

February 2, 2015 Jentimko 1 Comment

I told you last Wednesday that I was working on a card trying to make it fit the sketch when I just had to abandon it and try another path. Well, I loved the FMS card I made but still needed to finish the one I was fighting with. So I thought I should share it with you today! Without the constraint of the sketch, I was able to just add a simple sentiment and not worry about the extra circle element.

Looks like Amy O’Neill and I were on the same wavelength for the sketch using the stars from the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits on the Stacked with Love DSP pack papers. I used a little clip from the Basics Hodgepodge Clips to hold together the banners and the piece of Real Red Cotton Ribbon. The sentiment is from a retired set but seemed perfect to finish this off. Any number of current bold words could be used instead (Four You, for example)!

Quick post today. Off to the gym and then the grocery store. Yep….a big day planned. Hoping for a little stamping time too.

Back on Wednesday with the latest from Freshly Made Sketches. We have a fun sketch from Linda Callahan this week. Until then, I hope your week starts off great! Thanks for stopping in!

Click HERE to purchase these wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamp: Simply Celebrate; Paper: Whisper White, Stacked with Love DSP Pack; Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Real Red 1/4″ Cotton Ribbon, Basics Hodgepodge Clips, Mini Treat Bag Thinlits, Big Shot

Fancy Friday – Fancy Flashback

January 29, 2015 Jentimko 4 Comments

I am so excited to share with you this month’s project with for our Fancy Friday monthly hop! If you just came over from the amazing Jeanna, welcome to the next stop. My friends and I want to be able to share with you our ideas in a monthly format. We will use different themes each month – sometimes colors, sometimes a sketch, sometimes a stamp set focus. The one thing you can count on is that it will be fancy! Over our year on the 2013 Artisan Design Team, “fancy” became our word to describe the best projects, the best new clothes, even the best pedicure colors. Now we want to share with you our take on “fancy” each month. This month our theme is “Fancy Flashback”! We are pulling some of our favorites our of retirement and showing you how they work with new products! A great stamp set is a gift that keeps on giving!

So one of my favorite stamp sets of all time is Branch Out. This is a set that can be used for almost any kind of card and never disappoints! I love it so much. And yet sadly it has languished in a stack for much too long. For those of you who shop on Ebay, you may have even seen this stamp selling for crazy prices. I wanted to see if I could make it look current and so I used it to create this super clean birthday card. All the focus is on the beautiful image!! Cards with white space are so popular now and a set like really shines. I stamped the tree in Soft Suede and then added leaves and flowers using Pear Pizzazz and Pink Pirouette. The tire swing is stamped in Momento Black (because this is the BEST black ink!) and so is the sentiment. The butterflies are Lost Lagoon and that color is really pretty with this palette. My sentiment is from a work horse set called Four You that is a must have.

I know what you are thinking… “Great Jen, I don’t have the set and I’m not willing to spend a billion dollars to get it. What do I do?” I have a solution that you will LOVE. In the latest Occasions catalog there is a new stamp set called Sheltering Tree. Wanna see??

So it has the tree, an adorable swing, replace the butterflies with a bike and…just look at that….add a sentiment from the same set! Yeah. I know. And, NOT a billion dollars, lol! All of these together are just $24.95 US. So cool!

Now we are supposed to pull out a throwback picture of ourselves. Hmmm……. I thought it would be fun to show you where my journey to the Artisan Team began in earnest. This is a picture from my first Stampin’ Up Convention. It is here that I got to know my second level supervisor, Lisa Curcio. Lisa and my upline Brandi were the ones that I told first about considering entering the Artisan competition. They, along with some of my local stamping friends gave me the courage to submit my projects. I cannot even give words to how grateful I am for their support and for the many, many gifts that Stampin’ Up has brought to my life.

I have some cards all ready for you over the next few days. I’ve been getting to work in the stamp room and hoping to get back into a better routine of posting. I’m so glad you stopped by today and I look forward to seeing again soon!

Okay, off to go visit the awesome Mercedes Weber! You will be wow’d, as always!

And you can click our logo above to get to the Fancy Friday Pinterest page!

Click HERE to purchase these wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamps: Branch Out; Paper: Whisper White; Ink: Soft Suede, Pear Pizzazz, Pink Pirouette, Lost Lagoon, Momento Black

Freshly Made Sketches #171

January 28, 2015 Jentimko 12 Comments

Don’t you love it when you see a sketch that has a classic feel? What makes something a classic?? Something that can be used over and over with different looks. And I think we have one for you this week at Freshly Made Sketches! No surprise when you see that it comes from the wonderful Rita Wright. I just love everything she has been making..so trendy…and this sketch will inspire a busy gallery for sure!

So I kind of went a different direction than the rest of the team. Is there such a thing as clean and shabby? Maybe that is the new CAS, lol! I got the new stamp set Butterfly Basics and could not wait another minute to ink it up! I love the pretty images and the fabulous sentiments! I stamped the honeycomb image twice with Crumb Cake ink and the sewed on some Crumb Cake Seam Binding (scrunched up) and Venetian Lace Trim. I inked the butterfly in Lost Lagoon. Don’t you love the lace look of that butterfly??!! Oh my goodness it is awesome! I added on a flower from the retired Flower Trim (but there is another version available in the new Occasions Catalog in the Artisan Embellishment Kit). In the background I splattered on some Crumb Cake ink with a paint brush and added the sentiment.

I had such fun putting this together. I had another card that I worked on much too long trying to make it fit with the sketch and when I gave in moving on to this stamp set….done in about 30 minutes. When I went over and saw the cards from the Design Team, I totally fell in love with them all. Yep…a classic sketch!

So we have had two “snow days” this week and my boys have been home from school (and mom has had limited stamping). Now snow days is a loose phrase since there is no actually snow left. We got about 1/2″. But I think my FMS friend Jen Mitchell got enough for me and the whole team so I’ll not roll my eyes too much. Still….the boys would have loved a little sledding. *smile*

Ok, hop right over to see what our amazing team has up for you this week and give a special thanks to Rita for the sketch that will keep on giving. I’ll be back on Friday with the monthly Fancy Friday hop. Until then, I hope your week is great!

Click HERE to purchase these wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamps: Butterfly Basics; Paper: Naturals Ivory; Ink: Crumb Cake, Lost Lagoon; Accessories: Crumb Cake Seam Binding, Venetian Lace Trim, Flower Trim (ret), Sewing Machine

Party Herd

January 26, 2015 Jentimko 1 Comment

Today is a pretty special day at my house! It is my youngest son’s birthday and wow what a light he is in our lives. This freshly minted 9 year old has a funny little sense of humor. He is just as likely to “shake his tail feathers” to music as he is to show his “skilz” at soccer or rock through some really hard math. It is because of him that I just had to get the new stamp set From the Herd. He loved it more than any stamp set he has seen so of course it came right here! It fits him so well!

Naturally I had to make him a card with it and I think I love the stamp as much as the birthday boy now! Just look at these hilarious little faces. I feel like the image does all the work so I needed a sketch that didn’t distract from it. I keep seeing offset layers and love the look so I went with it for this. I think that little pop of yellow has a big impact, don’t you?! Using my Paper Piercing Tool and the Mat Pack I added the details around the edges. This is another trendy look that I love. The coloring took a little bit of patience but I find it really fun to do. I’m so happy Stampin’ Up keeps adding on extra colors in their Blendabilities line so I can do work like this! The Baker’s Twine bow is the perfect final detail.

As soon as my son opened this, he got a big old grin and laughed. Exactly! That is what making cards is about. Knowing what will make someone smile. I hope this inspires you to pull out a set that makes YOU happy and stamp today.

My dear friend and second level team leader asked me to join her in a Creative Blog Hop Monday group. Lisa Curcio, of Lisa’s Stamp Studio, is such dear person and a talented demonstrator. I’m so proud of her many, many accomplishments but mostly proud to call her friend. So to keep up with the hop rules, I have to answer some questions:

What are you working on? Today, I’ll be working on some upcoming cards for Freshly Made Sketches. Also working to update my Stamps on the Fly program with fun, new projects.
How does your work differ from others in your genre? I think I can be called a “clean” stamper. Not always clean and simple (CAS) because some of my clean cards take a long time to make, lol. I find that clean cards require extra attention to detail since every element really matters. Also, balance on the card is important. I try to create things that are special and yet very makable for those who stamp with me!
Why do you create what you do? I create what I love. I am definitely a seasonal stamper in my color choices and I tend to go in phases on products I am using. Creating make me happy!
How does your creativity process work? It depends. Mostly, I love working with sketches. This shouldn’t surprise any of you who have followed me. I have a math brain and sketches resonate with me. I can “see” in sketches. As soon as I see one, I know what stamps can be used and the card builds from there. Sometimes though it starts with the image. Like this card. I colored the image first and then built the card around it. I love it when that happens!

Ok…well, I hope you have enjoyed this card and learning a little more about me. I’ll be back on Wednesday with the latest from Freshly Made Sketches and again on Friday with the Fancy Friday monthly hop. I’m so glad you dropped in today. See you soon!

Click HERE to purchase these wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamps: From the Herd; Paper: Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay; Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Blendabilities – Smoky Slate, Pink Pirouette, Skin Tones, Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight, Coastal Cabana, Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Copic Markers (W0, W2); Accessories: Crushed Curry Baker’s Twine, Piercing Tool, Mat Pack, Dimensionals

Stamping with Love

January 20, 2015 Jentimko 2 Comments

Happy Tuesday!! I am so glad to have a card to share with you today. In fact, I have two cards and some awesome artwork to share! Over the weekend I got to have a friend and her daughter over to visit the stamp room and we had such fun. While my little friend was busy coloring, so were the moms! I finally got to play with some of the things in my Occasions Catalog order and the first order of business was the Love is Kindness set. I love this set!!

I pulled out my new Pink Pirouette Blendabilities and combined them with Rich Razzleberry Blendabilities to create this fun bouquet. Just a little gray added onto the newspaper part of the image for depth and Old Olive on the leaves and stems. I cut the image out with my Ovals Framelits and then backed them with a Tea Lace Doily. I popped on a Silver Metallic Mini Clothespin and tied on some Basic Gray Baker’s Twine (left from a Paper Pumpkin Kit – these kits are a gift that keeps on giving!).

My friend Ani colored the second image and pulled out a button from my stash and tied on Baker’s Twine. I LOVE her take on this too! Oh…and she had never colored with Blendabilities before and is a new stamper. These markers really are great no matter what your experience. For those of you who love cooking as much as stamping, make sure you check out Ani’s blog, Cook on a Whim. I definitely think I get the better end of the deal when she shares her cooking with my family!! A little coloring in exchange for Gumbo, homemade cheesecake, Peach Bourbon BBQ Sauce….just to name a few.

And this is what her daughter worked on while we were stamping away. Hmmm…do you see more new stamps?!!! I have some fun ideas with these!! I think Miss Ava did a fabulous job, don’t you?! For the record, the boys (my two and Ani’s son) decided they needed some guy time and were watching a movie. Their loss!! *smile*

Now you may have noticed that I have a new look today. Over the last few days I have been updating the blog. Sorry if you have come over during any of the construction!! I still have a few things to adjust but I think that I’m almost done. I would LOVE to hear what you think!! To make it easier for you to follow me, I have added more social media buttons in my sidebar to include one for Bloglovin (email followers will need to click over to see them). Also, I have an easier e-mail link there too. I hope this makes coming to Stampin’ on the Fly a more intuitive and friendly experience!

Click HERE to purchase these wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamps: Love is Kindness, Happy Easter Bunny, From The Herd, I Like You; Paper: Whisper White, Smoky Slate; Ink: Momento Black, Pink Pirouette, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Smoky Slate Blendabilities; Accessories: Tea Lace Doilies, Button, Mini Metallic Clothespin, Basic Gray Baker’s Twine, Dimensionals

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