Vroom, Vroom!

I have raised (well, almost) a boy, and that noise was one I heard a lot when he was little (he's not so little anymore). I really never thought I'd be using the sound to describe one of my newest stamps!

Motorcyle is one of the a la carte stamps that SU! is offering this summer in the Summer Occasions Mini for only $7.95! At first I thought I could do without it, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this stamp would work well for manly cards for boys of all ages.

I've been waiting for my first order from the new 2010-2011 Big Idea Book & Catalog to arrive before I inked this stamp, and I'm THRILLED with this first attempt with it! Perhaps that has to do with some of the other stamps and accessories I coordinated with it to make it really pop. I showcased the new Wonderfully Worn background stamp and the Square Lattice Textured Impressions folder for my new Big Shot die cutting machine for this card.

What really makes this card cool is the textured treatment I gave heavy duty aluminum foil. This really helps convey the feel of chrome. I also ran Bermuda Bay through the Big Shot using this same folder. I stamped the cycle in Basic Grey and used my .75" square punch to cut the image apart after I colored the fenders and gas tank with BB Stampin' Write Marker. I mounted each little square with a very tight mat of Basic Black to help it stand on its own against the foil. I also popped it up on Stampin' Dimensionals.

The sentiment is an old standby from It's Your Birthday...sure wish SU! would come out with another set that has a variety of birthday sentiments. Not wild about anything in the catalog.

While I was playing around with this stamp, I wondered if I could simulate movement by stamping the image from right to left (backwards) without reinking. I think it worked! But, since I tend not to leave well enough alone, I added another image that I'd cut out on top of the main cycle, again popped up. This motorcycle's all but doin' a wheely on the inside of the card!

This will be one of the cards I feature at my Stamp-A-Stack later this month. I have SO much new stuff, it's going to take awhile to highlight it all for you! Stay tuned! I'm just gettin' my crafting engine revved up!

Celebrating a CANCER-FREE Life!

My friend Holly was diagnosed with breast cancer almost a year ago. I serve with her husband at church and really did not know her all that well when Brad shared this life-altering news with us, but over the past year we have forged a friendship. Saturday night she and her husband invited everyone who had helped them in the past year to celebrate the END of her cancer treatments (she had both chemo and radiation, even though surgery "got it all") with a Texas-style BBQ.

I wanted to make something that would commemorate this occasion, and so I went WAY BACK to perhaps the oldest set I own, All Year Cheer II, to grab the "Celebrate!" stamp. For some reason, I'm leaning toward the Brights Collection right now, so I emptied my rack of all the ink pads in that group and created a simple background pattern using the stamp. Holly's not really a PINK gal, or I would've gone that route! I sprayed the whole piece with Vanilla Smooch Shimmer Mist to give it some bling.

Once I was done with that, I pulled out Live Like You Mean It, which has the perfect sentiment for this project. I stamped it in Basic Black so that it would contrast boldly from the background. Then I got a wild hare.

Have you ever seen a framed picture of a newlywed couple that's surrounded by signatures of those who were guests at their ceremony? I think it's a much more practical and lovely way of remembering who shared in that special day with the couple than a traditional guest book.

I thought it would be very appropriate to create a unique "guest book" for last night's party that she could frame to remember this special day. So instead of making a card, I placed the front in the middle of an 8"x10" sheet of Whisper White card stock. I took it to the party mounted on a clipboard and everyone who was there signed it.

I'm grateful for the opportunity life presented me to get to know Holly. She is a lovely person and a gifted writer. You can meet her here on her blog. Congrats, girlfriend! Spread your wings and FLY!

More Paper Bargello

After I posted the paper bargello card on Monday, I pulled out another sheet of striped DSP I had laying around (from retired Cutie Pie, if you're interested), and tried this technique again.

I think making bargello with paper works best if the stripe pattern is simple and repeats exactly. The one I used didn't do that, and it made things more challenging. The exercise in pattern matching was a stretch for my brain, though, so it's all good.

This card was patterned after someone's layout sketch I saw this week, and I liked that it was simple. I'm not one for a ton of layers. I wanted the bargello to shine, so I used a sentiment instead of an image so that the focus could remain on the pattern.

I pulled out the very old Art of Life set because I wanted to create a pattern on the strip of Wild Wasabi and because I love the sentiment included with the images. If you hadn't guessed already, I'm a words person, and this statement by Thoreau is fantastic.

I stamped it in all three colors that the DSP contained: Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi, and Bashful Blue, and finally chose BB because it didn't dominate everything else going on. The ribbon is some I've been hoarding since WW retired, so I'm thrilled that it's back in the core line of colors so I can put it to use and not worry about not being able to get more!

This card served as a belated birthday greeting for my friend Pam (please forgive the horrible photo--I need to go see her again so we can get a better one), who personifies Thoreau's words. She gives so much of herself to others through her hospitality, time, and listening ear, and I wanted the card to be an affirmation of this quality that I see in her.

Have you missed someone's birthday? Why not send them a card that encourages the qualities you see in her life that she may not see in herself? You never know what kind of effect on her day you might have. Happy Saturday!

Bargello with Paper

Have any striped Designer Series Paper laying (lying?) around that you don't know what to do with? Then try bargello, a needlepoint technique that uses thread to create patterns that we paper crafters have adapted for our own uses.

Dawn Olfchefske did a great tutorial on this, so I'm not going to reinvent the wheel here. The pattern I did she demonstrates near the end of the video, about 6:52 in. The skinny? Take 2-6"x6" squares of striped DSP. Line one up with the stripes running vertically and cut diagonally from the upper left corner to the lower right corner. Then cut .5" strips. Take the second piece of 6"x6" striped paper and place the stripes running horizontally. Cut again from the upper left corner to the lower right corner and then cut .5" strips.

This will allow you to create this wavy pattern! It's so cool to watch it come together as you mount it on a piece of card stock. I've had this sitting on my desk for several weeks, just waiting for enough time to finish it properly for the right occasion. Kelly is a partner at Starbucks who was only with us for a short time. She's leaving because her full-time job will take her out of town too many weekends for her to continue working at the store. This card is for all of us to sign to wish her farewell.

Want to know how I found matching thread for my buttons? It's not thread; it's PAPER! I learned this trick somewhere on the internet, but it's not really all that tricky. Just cut a thin thin thin strip of card stock and use it like thread on your button. Voila--matchy matchy!

I tried my hand at pleating some ribbon and this time I used double-sided Scotch tape, and it worked fairly well. I had to reinforce the pleats with some glue dots, due to the heft of this ribbon. Still, it adds some nice texture and visual interest to the card.

Figuring out how to put a sentiment on this card without detracting from the patterned paper was a challenge. I chose something small from Best Yet and punched it with the Modern Label Punch.

Give this a try and let me know what you think! I'd love to see yours--link me to a picture!

40--It's Just a Number, Right?

Former Starbucks partner and fellow displaced Chicagoan Sandy turns the BIG 4-0 on the 13th. My boss asked me to put together a card for her that we could all sign. FUN--just the kind of request I love to fulfill!

I wanted to use the new Builder Wheel system as the centerpiece for the card. In case you don't know what this is, it's a series of smaller wheels that are coupled together with a special spindle on the Jumbo Wheel Handle. They can be mixed and matched, and this set is featured in the Summer Mini Catalog, which is available through Aug. 31. The new 2010-2011 Big Idea Book & Catalog features several more, and each wheel is an inexpensive addition to your stamping toolkit at $4.50 each.

I also wanted to incorporate all the colors of one of the newly organized Color Collections into the design, so I chose the Brights Collection and got to work. I inked the wheel in Basic Black and rolled it out its full length--11 inches. This gave me the full message and some repeat in the pattern to work with. Then I pulled out all my Stampin' Write Markers and colored the candles. The colors I used included: Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise, Pacific Point, Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, and Rich Razzleberry. It's a more muted version of the old Bold Brights color family, but I like it.

Once I was done with the coloring, I wanted to figure out a way to incorporate the number 40 into the design. I pulled out my retired Headline Numbers, stamped them in Basic Black, and then created a tag using my Extra Large Tag punch.

I wanted some sparkle, so I used my Versamark Marker, Heat and Stick Powder, and Dazzling Diamonds Embossing Powder to gussy it up. All you do is ink up the letters/numbers with the Versamark, sprinkle on the H&S powder, heat it with a heat tool until it begins to melt, sprinkle on the DDEP, then finish setting the H&S powder. The glitter won't go flake off because it has been "glued" in place with the melted powder!

When I put it with the other image, I realized I was going to need to add the same bling to the letters of Happy Birthday. The coordinating result looks great, dontcha think?

I mounted the HB panel on Basic Black--after all, it's #4-0--and created a 5.5" square card with Metallic Silver card stock. For the finishing touch, I added some Whisper White taffeta ribbon that I scrunched across the top. Want to know how I did it?

It's really easy! Just apply some Mono Adhesive or Sticky Strip along the back side of the ribbon, then create small loops. These will scrunch together as you press them onto the card stock, creating the look. Be sure to start off the edge and finish past the edge so that you can make a clean cut that is fully stickified to the card.

Lastly, I used my Cropadile to punch out the holes to tie the 40 tag to the image. The Silver Chord is a little temperamental, but I tamed it into the bow I wanted.

Wanna see the Builder Wheels in the new catalog? Click here! If you want to place an order, just identify me, Jenn Nahrstadt, as your demonstrator. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

A Flowery Card for my Gardener Friend

My dear friend Mary and I lived next door to each other for 15 years. She has quite the green thumb. I.DON'T. The fern in the picture? Her housewarming gift to us when she helped us move here from IL 4 years ago. (I killed it; don't tell her or I'll blame it on the drought we had that year.)

When we were "side by side friends", I helped her weed, and we would chat while we pulled and check the progress of all her different specimens. She tried to get me to love gardening like she did, but I like foliage (variegated leaves and coleus) better than flowers. Thank goodness she didn't let it come between us!

Her birthday was yesterday. She's gone until early next week, so the card may still make it to her house before she gets home. This means it's not a belated birthday card, right?

In homage to Mary's gardening skills, I used A Flower for All Seasons and copied the layout from the new Stampin' Up! 2010-2011 Big Idea Book & Catalog. I stamped 2 of the images on scraps of Whisper White card stock, colored them, and then cut them out. It was time-consuming, but worth it. I popped them up on Stampin' Dimensionals to give the appearance on the card that this was a 3D grouping of flowers.

Mary's husband Dan has this saying about flowers: "A CUT flower is a DEAD flower." Well, at least Mary will have these flowers to enjoy without being concerned about them drooping or dying!

I wish I could be there to meander through the grove with my dear friend and sit on her screened porch and chat over a glass of iced tea. As they say, "Next year."

The Time Has Come--2010-11 Catalog LIVE!

You can order ONLINE right now by clicking here! So many cool things being offered that I placed my biggest order EVER as a demonstrator.

Check it out for yourself! Here's the link to download the PDF; be patient--it's 31 MB, so it'll take about a minute.

Can't WAIT to hear what you think!