Spooky Banner - Simply Created!

My Spooky Banner Class on Sunday was a lot of fun.  Here's the banner sample I used for the class.  I made it while at our last craft retreat.  Since it was a small class, I got to join in and make another one for myself.

Supplies / Tools:

• Halloween Banner Simply Created Accessory Kit
• Build a Banner Simply Created Kit
• Large Rhinestones
• Basic Black ink pad & Sponge Dauber
• Ink Refills:  Pumpkin Pie, Summer Starfruit
• Rubbing Alcohol for Stampin' Spritzer (included in kit)
• Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks
• Snail Adhesive
• Baby Wipes & paper towels to clean stencils
• empty box or newspaper to spritz stencils on/in

On my second banner, I added some card stock punched with the 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punch behind the circle medallions.  I also tied the ribbon on with a simple loop pull through instead of actually tying them on.  The lighting on these 2 photos is bad...sorry about that.

I am doing a "Peace" banner class in November.  But, first are my October Craft Shows and my 2nd Christmas Card Stamp-a-Stack on October 13th.  I will do a post listing my October Craft Shows.  My first one is this coming Saturday in The Colony.

Happy Stampin'

Special Season and Northern Flurry Embossed Vellum

The last Stamp Night project for September was a Christmas card using the Special Season stamp set inspired by a card by Kelly Agee shared on our demo site.  Thanks for the layout, Kelly!

Stamp Sets:

• Special Season

Colors:

• Coastal Cabana
• Smoky Slate
• Whisper White
• Black StazOn

Supplies / Tools:

• Vellum Cardstock
• Stampin' Sponge
• Frosted Finishes Embellishments
• Sharpie
• Northern Flurry Embossing Folder
• Glue Dots & Dimensionals

You can use Sharpies to color Stampin' Up!'s rhinestones like the middle one below.  I got this color out of a standard package of Sharpies...might have been a 24 pack of colors.  Here's a close up:

I made this design while at a craft retreat and had left it "finished" on my work space unattended without the Frosted Finishes Embellishment.  When I came back, my downlines (I think it was Tracy & Becky) had added the embellishment to my card and suggested the colored rhinestone.  Now I can't imagine this card without it!!!  Gotta love collaboration!

Happy Stampin'

Bargello Technique - Sweater Weather Paper

For September, I used the Sweater Weather designer series paper to demonstrate the Bargello Technique.  I've seen this technique for a while and wanted to do it, so here we go!  First the card...

Stamp Sets:

• Positively Chevron (background stamp)

Colors:

• Soft Sky
• Chocolate Chip
• Tangerine Tango

Supplies / Tools:

• Autumn Accents Bigz Die
• Ovals Collection Framelits
• Linen Thread
• Copy paper
• Paper Trimmer
• 2 Way Glue Pen or Snail
• Dimensionals
• Stampin' Sponge

Here is the Technique Journal page my Stamp Night regulars made for their book with the directions:

You can make your pattern and copy paper a little bigger to accommodate another strip of the paper you started with if you want to make it more "perfect" and use it for a full background (in this case another orange strip on the right or another plaid on the left).  Also, you want your contrasting, darker pieces in the middle in lieu of the edges since they add some punch to the look when you start staggering your cuts.

Make sure to use plenty of glue, tape, or Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets for maximum adhesive coverage since after you cut, there will be little bits of paper on edges.  Cut in other direction and stagger on another copy paper per journal instructions above.  Here's what the staggered strips looked like after the framelit and the punched piece came out (left behind by one of my class attendees...mine was cut up too much from punching extra samples out).

I did a wave pattern on the card.  You can also zig-zag or do a pyramid...just experiment with it to see what you like.

Happy Stampin'

Yippee-Skippee Calendars Project

Here's one of the projects I did for my September Stamp Nights.  It's a magnetic calendar using the Afternoon Picnic designer paper and the Yippee-Skippee stamp set.

Stamp Sets:

• Yippee-Skippee

Colors:

• Basic Gray
• Wisteria Wonder
• Very Vanilla

Supplies / Tools:

• Chalk Talk Framelits
• 2014 Tear Away Calendars
• Candy Dots - Subtles Pear Pizzazz
• Silver Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, VersaMark
• 3/4" Chevron Ribbon
• Dimensionals & Glue Dots
• Sticky Strip for back of calendar
• Thin adhesive backed magnet strips for back (I used business card magnets)
• Clear Medium Envelopes for gift giving or mail in regular medium envies!

The Afternoon Picnic paper was the perfect choice for these calendars since the patterns on several sheets in the package are small enough to enjoy in the background.  I made these card sized so they can fit in the Clear Medium Envelopes to give as gifts.  I'll bring some to craft shows in October and give some to family at Christmas.

Happy Stampin'

Crafting Marathon - Labor Day Weekend

Me and some of my downlines went to a craft retreat on Labor Day weekend along with another awesome group of crafters who shared the house with us.  To ease packing our whole craft rooms, I made a sign up sheet for bringing all the Stampin' Up! tools.  This worked out great; we'll definitely do that again.

We are trying out different retreats in the area in an attempt to find a replacement for our beloved Craftaway Studios that went out of business...nothing will ever be as good, but we love our retreat weekends together (Thanks, Anna, we are addicted now!).

In my room was this "Relax" word that made me laugh...not exactly what we do on our retreats...lol.

Here's my friend, Lori, decorating wood tissue box covers that will be Christmas gifts.

We stayed up until at least 4am every day, watched movies while we crafted, laughed, played with new stuff from the Holiday Catalog, and completed lots of projects.  Of course, it was 104 degrees outside so it was hard to keep the studio (a converted garage) cool.  We probably need an "in house" studio for this time of year in Texas!  Still, we had a great time, and hopefully everyone caught up on their sleep over the next few days.

Happy Stampin'