Make Your Own DSP with Collage Stamping! (Tutorial)

This little beauty is another card I designed for my Hostess Club for our July meeting. It's another one of the 4x8 cards I just recently starting making with a 2" pocket inside. Aside from the ribbon, all product is current SU, the ribbon retired:( My other card using this fold was posted on 7/3, check it out if you didn't see it! What I love about this one, is I decided to make my own DSP! (SU's term...Designer Series Paper). I have stamped my own patterned paper before, but not as quickly or as easily as this. Keep reading!

Here's the inside of the card showing the pocket with the insert pulled out. I left my flowers colorless on the inside, but had some club members color theirs! It was pretty both ways. I love the way this DSP uses the colors I wanted, I didn't have to work around a pre-printed paper! Now, don't get me wrong, I love DSP as much as the next stamper, but sometimes I want it in exact colors, that's where this comes in!

This set is new to the 2010-2011 IBC, it's called Awash With Flowers, and I purchased it Clear Mount. The Block in the picture is 'E'. This set comes in two DVD boxes, one for the outlines, one for the solid images. I took the flowers from the outline case and arranged them on the clear block. I am showing the example on a 2.5x8" strip. This is quicker to do on a full sheet, then cut it down, I am thinking OSW!!! (One Sheet Wonder) Once you have the stamps arranged to your liking, ink them up all at once, here using Basic Gray), and stamp away! So quick! It's easy to continually stamp an exact pattern! No randomness unless you want it!

Once the paper is stamped, I then took each individual solid and inked the colors! I will definitely be making more of my own paper with this set! It would be wonderful to sit down and do a few sheets of Whisper White CS with the outlines and fill in with color when you were ready for it! Talk about a great use of the Clear Blocks and the stamp sets!

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I hope you'll all try out this method of Collage Stamping!!! It's fun, easy, and what better way to get the most bang for your buck!

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This card uses:

CS---Whisper White, Basic Gray, Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight

Ink --- Basic Gray, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Wild Wasabi and Marina Mist

Stamps---Awash With Flowers, clear block 'E', and A-D

Scallop Trim Border Punch, Melon Mambo Dotted Ribbon

SUO!

Pink and Brown are made for each other!

We all know pink and brown are beautiful together! Yes? Ok! It's true, there's just not too many other two color combos that can evoke such a feminine air, yet also lend themselves to vintage, shabby chic, and more! They are amazing! Like peas and carrots...LOL! However, until this month, the darkest brown we SU'ers had the option of was Chocolate Chip, and our lightest pink was Pretty in Pink. Now, those two are nice together, and I still love Chocolate Chip, just not as much as I used to:) Early Expresso is so rich, and much darker. I couldn't believe how amazing it looked with Pink Pirouette (a former In Color joining the SU family!). It's so decadent! I paired these colors with a Crumb Cake (formerly Kraft) base, and Very Vanilla for my neutral paper. I also used Very Vanilla HodgePodge Hardware, and ribbon.
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This is the new hostess set, Because I Care, which I have posted here before, and find myself reaching for often! This set is definitely a keeper! I stamped the image on the cardstock and also on copy paper. I trimmed closely around the flower on the copy paper and use the negative to layer over the flower, leaving the flower portion open and protecting the rest of the paper. Then I used daubers and Pink Pirouette ink to lightly color in the flower. I also stamped the small bloom image lightly all around the sentiment to add a little depth under the hardware frame.
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I designed this one last night for my club meeting today. I know...I was behind, our house has been ruined from floor damage...it's done now, but ate a whole month of our lives! I will post pics of the completed floors another day, after I have time to sweep:) All the ladies really seemed to like this card. I now have a new favorite pink/brown combo, and a sneaking suspicion I will use it often.
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Thanks for visiting!

Food for my stamping friends!

Today was my monthly stamp club meeting. Due to busy schedules and vacations, we had the lowest attendance ever! I missed the ladies who couldn't make it, and I am sure they missed us too! I hold a spot in my hostess club to have one good month of stocking supplies that I use in our projects. This month is my hostess month, so I had to make lunch! I love that my club members bring a small, light lunch for everyone. It's fun and I have acquired some good recipes! I made both of my dishes last night so I wouldn't be rushing this morning. The first pic is a cold Surimi Salad. It was fantastic!!! It's basically pasta shells, imitation crab meat (Surimi), fresh red and yellow peppers, fresh broc, grape tomatoes, green onion, hard grated parmesan, and a sauce made with parmesan cheese, italian dressing and mayo. Definitely my new fave salad for summer!

And since I was doing ok health wise on the lunch, I sprang a little on the desert! This is a layered Creamsicle. The pic isn't great, sorry! I didn't think to take a pic as soon as I pulled it out, so it started melting. Anyway, you get the idea. It was amazing! Creamsicles are my childhood favorite that to this day is still top of the list of summer treats for me! I mean, who doesn't love Creamsicles? This tastes EXACTLY like one on a much larger scale. It's made in a 9x5 loaf pan, then I inverted into a casserole dish.

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We had a great meeting, I will be posting our projects next! I love my friends, old and new that stamping has brought into my life! It's a pleasure to get to make lunch for them!

A Patriotic Birthday...

Here is a fun card I made for a Red, White and Blue swap in honor of the 4th of July. Due to some major water damage and our floors getting ripped up, I didn't get time to make it until after the 4th. But, I think it's something you could use most anytime. This card uses two brand new colors to the SU Color Collections...Cherry Cobbler and Marina Mist! They look really good together! I stamped the Medallion BG stamp in Cherry Cobbler on Whisper White CS. I then stamped a partial image in Marina Mist. I matted each on the opposite color. Added a sentiment from Whimsical Words, and punched it out with the Wide Oval punch, and finished the card with a star brad from the Styled Silver HPH in the center of the Medallion. I almost feel like it's missing something, but I decided to leave it as is. SUO!
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Supplies:
CS = Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist
Ink= Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist
Stamps= Medallion, Whimsical Words
Accessories= HPH, Wide Oval Punch
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I hope everyone is the blogosphere is doing well! I will be caught up on my blog groups and other online things ASAP! We have had some setbacks at home, to say the least. I am glad to be back in full swing! Stop by and visit again, and I will be visiting you, too!

Another Mystery Package....

I know I have posted before about the online swap group I take part in. I love it! We do monthly Mystery Swaps. The partners are random, and we send 'ingredients' to our partner so she can make a card with them and post a picture on our online forum for the rest of the group to see. It's fun, and it forces me to work with products and things I normally wouldn't. Here's the package I just received for July... Now, red is my fave color, so I thought this would be SO easy. But, I do not, ever, under any circumstance use stickers of any kind on my creations. So, that threw me for a loop. We do not have to use every single thing sent, and can add minimal items to it. I left out only the bow sticker. Here's what I came up with.

The card base was bigger than my standard fave size of A2, so I trimmed it down. Then it was too white for the other papers, so I sponged some Cherry Cobbler lightly around the edges. The red paper was too bright for the base then, so I covered it with torn and battered velleum. The papers were run through the Big Shot with the Top Note Die. I then cut strips and matched it up alternating the heart paper with the shimmery white paper. I punched the stamped image, and used stickers to adhere the vellum over it. I wrapped the whole card base in crochet thread before adhering the top layer. I like it. I wanted a vintage feel so the colors really needed muting. I didn't waste paper either, here's what I did with the die cut negative...

I framed the inside of the card where the sentiment and written message will go. Someone is definitely getting this for V-Day in 2011 :) Now, I just have to work on Christmas!

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Hope you all like it. Supplies are unknown as everything was sent to me. Dies and punches, as well as inks I added are SUO as always:)

Money for the Party Animal!!!

I sat down a couple nights ago with an idea! I have seen people make long cards (tall cards, however you look at it...LOL!), but I don't like to make them. However, I wanted one I could mail in a standard business envelope. They are cheap, and I had plenty around! This card measures 4"x8". There is a 2 inch pocket. So, I cut CS to 8x10. Left it 8" wide, and scored at 4 & 8 down the 10" side. That gave me two 4" parts for front and back, and a 2" pocket. The cute animals are from SU's Fox & Friends set. I really like how this turned out and I have never seen anyone use this exact fold, and it's SO simple! Keep going to see this pics of what makes it REALLY cool!

Above you see the card from the insert comes out, and is double sided. Keep going to see each side. The Happy Birthday sentiment is also SU, the set is All Holidays. And you gotta love how I am still using up paper from two years ago! This is Ski Slope DSP, but this particular pattern works well for birthdays, too!

And this is what you see when you pull out the insert. Nothing too fancy, just some lightly stamped animals. I know, I know, I am getting to what is actually cool about this card!

It holds money for your party animal!!!! I used the Slit Punch and some eyeballed measurements (who needs rulers?), to make it perfect for holding money in place. AND under the money is blank, with plenty of room for a message. I didn't have anything larger than a $1 for the pic, sorry. I am taking donations for $20's or $50's if anyone has one to spare:)

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Paper is Choc Chip, Real Red, Whisper White, Ski Slope DSP

Ink is: Choc Chip, Real Red, Old Olive, Baja Breeze

Stamps: Fox & Friends, All Holidays

Punches: Ticket Corner, Scalloped Edge, Scallop Circle, 1 3/8" Circle, Slit Punch

Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, Buttons are SU except the brown one...but it's close in color, and all I had! So, it doesn't count...LOL!

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Ok. I will be out of town next week. My floors are FINALLY going to get cut up, replaced, and the other rooms sanded and stained. We will be visiting family and friend out of state. I will be sure to get a post or two on delay to post while I am gone!