9/1 Stampin' Up!, Trust God, Petal Cone Die Basket.

Good Morning Friends! 

I am away camping this weekend and my little one woke me up early with the "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" blaring in HD.  Luckily the hubby is still asleep, so I'm taking the opportunity to share some more projects with you.  

Okay ~ so I got a few messages last night after announcing the stamping 411 extended leave and, no worries, I will still be posting to my personal blog.  The girls just need a break.  :)  I try and get a post up every day except Sunday.  (that's the day we're supposed to rest, right?) 

I have another cute project made with the petal cone die to show you this morning.  I showed this at the Providence RI regionals on Saturday.  This one was originally all over the internet a few years ago. This one goes together in minutes. 

I score 2" below the "line" on the petal cone cut out when it's all folded up, then just cut off everything 1" below that line and put two of them together.  It's so easy it should be illegal!  I used the ribbon border punch for the handle.  I embossed the sentiment right on the flap of the petal cone die with black embossing powder. 



My daughter Alexis will be making her 1st communion this year and I am probably going to make these as a favor at the family dinner after the communion.  I may change my mind a hundred times before then, but for now, this is it!  The supply list isn't too bad for it either, especially with the special this month!   Spend $40 in my online store and choose a free roll of the in-color stitched satin ribbon (shown below) during the month of September!  FREE is ALWAYS good!

Here's the shopping list for this project:

Stamps: Trust God Stamp Set in Wood Mount or Clear Mount
Ink: Versamark ink pad
Paper: Pink Pirouette Card Stock (one sheet per basket)
Accessories: Black Embossing Powder, Petal Cone Die for the big shot
Ribbon:   Raspberry Ripple Stitched Satin Ribbon (to tie on your basket) ~ Free with any $40 order in September in my Stampin' Up store. 

And by the way!  All customers who place an order with me will get a card in the mail as my thank you.  I very much appreciate you supporting this stay at home mom's small business and thank you for stopping by if you're a demo! 

Much love to you and have a wonderful weekend! 

Selene Kempton
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Stampin' Up! Serene Silhouettes and Trust God

Good Afternoon Friends! 

I have a very sweet card share for you today.  I am in a new catalog swap and created 18 of these pretty cards.  They went together pretty quick and I love the soft, pretty colors together.

My daughter is laying down because she's sick.  It's a bad time for her or me to be sick.

I have been working very hard towards earning the incentive trip and a bonus which is equal to a year's tuition for Alexis.  The idea of traveling to Fiji is amazing on it's own, but I'm also trying for a performance bonus.  All the pieces are in place, I just need sales.  So, I have been busy doing parties, sending personal thank you notes for every order and more.  I made a few extra of this one, so if this is the card you want, let me know!   For orders in person or on my website, I'll mail you a free catalog if you need one. I will be back to regular blogging soon.  

There's an AMAZING hostess special for parties that reach $450 this month.  Hostesses are getting an extra $50 in hostess benefits.  I've already have a few hostesses take advantage.
So instead of getting $65 and a half price item.  They are getting $115 and a half price item for $450.  For $500, it's $80 + $50 and so on.  In order to qualify for this special, I have to key in your order, so if you're going to go for that, please email or call me so you get full benefits.  :)

I am loving this pretty card!  The paper banners really take it to the next level and add that "little somethin' somethin"  to my soft and simple card. 

I'm going to start off by sharing the measurements I used for this card:

Base Layer: Crumb Cake Card Stock 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored and folded in half at 4 1/4"
Layer 2: Crumb Cake Card Stock 5 1/4" x 4, embossed with the Fancy Fan Embossing Folder
Layer 3: 1 x 4" certainly celery cardstock.  I used a square punch to make the "V"
Layer 4: Pool Party Card Stock 3 1/2" square
Layer 5: 1/2" x 4 1/2" certainly celery, and I used the same square punch trick for the end of the paper. 
Layer 6: Whisper White 3 1/4" square

Directions: 
Step 1:  On the whisper white layer, stamp the image from Serene Silhouettes.  Ink up using a pool party and certainly celery marker so you can multicolor the image.  I stamped the image so that the image leans towards the right instead of straight up and down.
Step 2: Stamp the "God Bless You" using soft suede ink. 
Step 3:  Emboss "Layer 2" with the Fancy Fan Embossing Folder
Step 4: Assemble your layers top down using tombo multipurpose adhesive.  To attach the blue panel, I used 5 dimensionals (one for each corner and one in the middle).  I like to put all the layers on top together first, before attaching to my card base.
Step 5: Gently spritz (one or two squirts) with the Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz 118772.  I'm not sure if you can see the shimmer in this photo, but the spritzed card front in real life is so pretty!  It does NOT need to take 2 hours to make a card.  I made 24 of these today in a few hours. 

Here is the supply list. 
Stamps: 
Trust God 126700 Wood / 126702 Clear
Serene Silhouettes 127322 Wood / 127324 Clear
Ink:
Certainly Celery Marker 105106, 
In color markers (pool party) 123002,
126978 Soft Suede Ink Pad
Paper:
Crumb Cake 120953
Pool Party 122924
Whisper White 100730
Certainly Celery 105125
Accessories:
1 1/4" square punch 124094
Vanilla shimmer Smooch Spritz 118772
Adhesive:
Multipurpose Liquid Glue 110755
Stampin' Dimensionals 104430

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  If you don't have a demonstrator and would like to place an order, I'd love to be your demo!  :)  Please check out my purchase rewards program.  I offer rewards to both my online customers and to my in person customers. 

Rubbah hugs,
Selene Kempton

My Stamp Store
NEW: Purchase Rewards Program  

Mojo Monday ~ Bouncing Brayer

Good Morning Friends,

I just love the simple sketch over on Mojo Monday this morning.  I grabbed a quick cup of java and headed to the studio. 

I started to clean up first (something I skipped yesterday) and found this leftover piece of Wisteria wonder designer paper.  It really says Easter to me!  I love this purple!  I walked around to see what other gems I left out for myself (while I was putting stuff away, i swear).  Then picked up that pretty so saffron taffeta ribbon that I left laying out.  I must have crafters ADD because I forget to clean up when I see something pretty I want to play with.  :)

Anyway, now I was really feeling Easter!  I went over to my stamps and found this stamp "Easter Dove" by Stampin' Up!, then I remembered the bouncing brayer technique.  I embossed the focal point using Vanilla scented embossing powder. 

So, this card also used the emboss resist technique.  The clear embossing powder "resists" the ink that's applied over so the image can pop out.  Isn't that fun?  This card smells so yummy.  Then, I pulled my brayer out, and just bounced all the way around.  I should have stopped after the first round, but I got excited and kept going a bit in the top right hand corner.  Next I pulled out some stampin sponges and sponged the ink on the center.  I wanted that focal point to really pop so I added some concord crush. If you want to see another sample with this technique, just click the label bouncing brayer below.  :D

For the "i" in Risen, I used a self adhesive rhinestone.  it really adds some sparkle.

Measurements:
Base: 10 1/2" x 5 1/4", scored and folded in half at 5 1/4"
Layer 2: 5 x 5" (so saffron)
Layer 3: 4 7/8" square whisper white, embossed with the hound sooth embossing folder
Layer 4: Berry Blossoms Designer paper 4 7/8" x 2 1/2"
Layer 5: was cut with the new framlet dies.  (Love those!)

That's it for today!  I hope you have a great week and have time to stamp 4 fun!
Rubbah hugs,

Selene Kempton

Need Stamps? Click here to visit my online store

Saturday Sketch Challenge 202 ~ Target your audience

Back in my single days, I was a disk jockey (and karaoke host). One of the things that makes a GREAT dj, is reading and providing for the audience. In a way, a good DJ gives the audience what it wants, before they have to . In some respects, making "just the right card" for a very special someone, can require the same skill! When I looked at tonight's sketch... askand knew who my creation was going to be for, I made some drastic changes of the feel of the sketch, based on my audience.

My Godson John, is making his first holy communion tomorrow morning and I didn't want to make him a card that was too girly, or had too much foo foo, but masculine cards CAN BE PRETTY and still masculine! :D So here we go! I have to say... I struggled BIG TIME... not to put a big gorgeous bow, or a button.... and bling... I pulled it back so that I have the right card for the right occasion! :D
I started with the cross. I embossed it with silver embossing powder on bashful blue cardstock and cut it out... I tried laying it on top of another bashful blue layer, and it got lost. So I changed to white. :D

I cut my white cardstock (layer 3) to 3 5/8" x 4 5/8" and ran it through the big shot to emboss it.

Next I stamped the sentiment "God bless you".. So pretty! Then I REALLY ran into trouble. I wanted to put a big girly bow, or make a faux bow behind that silver embellishment, but really you have to play for your audience. So, although I decided to keep and embellishment there, I used restraint and kept it extremely simple!

Layer 2 was cut to 3 3/4" x 5 1/8" then I used the eyelet border punch to add a little decoration.. OKAY perhaps that part IS a bit girly. :D Finally I peeled the cross off the front of my card, and added the brad.. it just NEEDED to be there! I hope you enjoyed sharing a bit into my creative process, and the next time you make a card... REALLY THINK about the person you are giving it to. What will THEY like?

Please join me and my friends over on Stamping 411 for an awesome challenge and you can make a card and share too!

Rubbah hugs and please have a wonderful weekend!

Selene~

God's Little Lamb ~ Petal Cone Basket and Bleaching Technique

I saw these in a few places online. I have no idea the ingenious stamper that was the ORIGINAL designer for this. but when my girlfriend Pam was at the house on Friday, to make petal cones for her granddaughters baptism, I said "give me a minute to try something I saw online"..

If this was your original idea, can you email me and I'll change my post to give you credit! :D For my local gals, if they have a project in mind, and make a purchase to make a project, when the goodies get here we roll up our sleeves together.

I've been doing favors all week for two different parties and invitations. It's so fun and rewarding to see how special it makes people feel when they finish their artwork that is worthy of a gallery! (in my humble opinion!).

Okay ~~~ Where to start.. I guess, I'll tell you about the handle first.. I took a regular 8 1/2" x 11" piece of matching cardstock, and punched the 8 1/2" end to make the handles. After doing a few of these you'll need a break, but I'm surprised how sturdy the handles really are! I punched holes on either side of my basket and ran a brad to attach the handle.... The best part of this punch is, when you punch one 8 1/2" strip, you have a regular piece of paper and dont need to cut in order to start the next strip.. it goes really quick.. I did them while catching up on my favorite soap in front of the tv.. :D

The base of the basket is two petal cone cut outs.. From where the petal folds, I measured down two inches and scored.. **note ~ this is a little tricky, you have to turn your project and essentially score twice to make it come together.. Then you cut at 3 inches.. There is a little tab left over at the bottom, and you need to slice upward to make the base.. I hope that's clear.. maybe i'll need to "do" a tutorial for it. If you google this petal cone basket, i'm sure you'll find a bunch of posts on it. So ~ we made a little less than 40 of these on Friday morning.

This set is ANOTHER set that I'll never part with, and when my friend Pam told me what she wanted for favors for her granddaughters christening... I knew what set I wanted to pull out! The invites had a lamb on them and referred to God's Little Lamb.. Isn't that the coolest?? So I embossed this lamb, and the post yesterday explains about the process for that.. Next I took some ordinary house bleach, and put it in a glass bowl on top of some paper towels. I used an aqua painter and picked up the bleach to bleach out the "fluffy part" of the lamb.. So it's on pink paper, but the lamb is white. This was our "scratch" sample, so on this one we also bleached the little heart necklace and the face of the lamb to color it in, but pirouette is such a light color pink, we decided that we would just leave it and run a blush blossom marker for the face, not color the necklace and drop a JEWEL self adhesive bling on top..

We saved all the leftover pieces from the die cuts and shredded them to make "Easter" grass in the bottom of the basket. They are so beautiful! I originally thought I should cut the paper banner a bit shorter, but the more I looked at it, I think I like the extra long, ribbon like banner that is also cut from the same die. Pam is a kindergarten teacher and kept the "ice cream" looking pink tops for her students.. she'll be making ice cream with them as the weather gets nicer.. Best of all... when you make it with paper, there's no calories!

This Sunday, my friend Jo and her friend Chris were at the house.. Of course we made a card, and I had an idea to take this idea to the elegant side... So I made one with craft paper..

We colored the image for this one with a marker and added dazzling diamonds to the flower.. A little seam binding and this basket is ready to go.. it's a really quick project and they make GORGEOUS favors, especially this time of year!

If you are local to me and would like to see how to assemble one, pop on by this week... I'm making 72 more for a part this weekend.. :D

Happy Wednesday!

Rubbah hugs,
Selene Kempton

Pirouette Pink Baptism Card ~ Embossing 101

On a personal note... My six year old, who's like talking to someone my age said "mommy, can you believe today is already March 1st! It won't be long before we're in Alaska!" I had a little chuckle that my sweet daughter is sounding so grown up and feeling a little like that my Dora the Explorer loving pumpkin is growing up before my eyes... :( I'd love her to stay little forever...

Anyway, speaking of babies, my AWESOME, wonderful, cool, sister in law of the year, Amy sent me a text late Friday night that she needed a baptism card. (Saturday AM) for a mutual friend/stamper. Up to my elbows in party favors this week, I took about 20 minutes to make this card then ran it upstairs to my mother in law (who is also the coolest ever).

Measurements:
Base: Pink Pirouette 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half at 4 1/4"
Layer 2: Whisper White 5 1/8" x 3 7/8"
Layer 3: Pink Pirouette 5 x 3 3/4"
Layer 4: 3 1/8" x 2 1/8" (whisper white)
Layer 5: Pink Pirouette 3 x 2"

The baptism sentiment comes from a retired set that I'm hoarding.. tee hee... but the cross and the "God bless you" sentiment comes from a wonderful set that I don't get to use nearly enough called crosses of hope.

Step by step... First I stuck my layer 2 and 3 together with snail adhesive. Many of you who stamp with me know that I'm addicted to using the multipurpose "green tube" glue, but when I'm not sure how a card is going to come together, I use snail to see where it's gonna go! :D That way the layers can still come apart..

Step 2: Using the tulip embossing folder from the stampin up occasions mini catalog, i embossed both layer 2 and 3 at the same time with my big shot.

Step 3: Next, I pulled out my versamark pad, silver embossing powder, my buddy and my pal.. :D The embossing buddy is an inexpensive tool that removes static electric from my cardstock with one quick swipe. I used versamark to stamp my card (sticky) then poured the embossing powder on top. ***TIP*** Here's where I like to take a paint brush and remove unwanted flecks of embossing powder from my cardstock. Then I heat with a heat gun just until the powder melts.. (note* if you over heat it, you'll scorch your paper).. I embossed the inside of my card at the same time (shown here).

Step 4: Next I made a bow, using my friend Lee Conrey's incredible bow maker. She actually GAVE me one of these as a gift! Look at the stunning double bow gorgeousness! I took a piece of ribbon 6" long and used snail adhesive to attach it to the back of layers 2, 3 and 4 (which I attached).. I may have skipped that step... :D

Step 5: I attached the silver embossed top pirouette layer with dimensionals, and the big beautiful bow with glue a few dots... (the wonder of the world that will stick even the toughest of ribbons)!

And that's about it... So this card is for little Brielle. I hope you enjoyed reading about the process.. I think it took me longer to type it all out than it did to make the card.. Although dry embossing with the big shot, and heat embossing are very easy processes, they will always be a wow for me!

Would you like your own big shot? or do you have a big shot and want that folder?? Well, I know I don't always mention it, but I do have a store that you can shop 24/7 from the office or in your jammies. Click here to visit my demonstrator site and place an order if you're feeling inspired to. Just click "shop now" in the upper right to go directly to my storefront.

I can't WAIT to show you the cool favors I made on Friday with one of my best friends, Pam. Her granddaughters baptism is this weekend and I helped her with favors. They came out so cute! I'll post that tomorrow in the morning.. I can't be blogging ALL day or I wont get anything done after all!

Also ~ if you're in the area on Saturday, I'll be doing the band booster's craft fair at Dracut High School. Come on by and enter my raffle for a $25 gift certificate to my classes or products!

That's all for today! Hope you have an awesome day!

Rubbah hugs,
Selene Kempton