Stamping my Art Out

Celebrate National Scrapbooking Month with Stampin' Up!

What a great way to start off your scrapbooking month -- three wonderful promotions from Stampin' Up!, all aimed at you, the scrapbooker/paper-crafter.

1.   Buy any three packs of Designer Series Paper (including the new Specialty Designer Series paper) or 12" x 12" textured card stock...... and get one FREE!  You can mix and match your packs, too.

2.  Become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator with all of the benefits that come with that title, for only $75 with a limited-time, scrapbooking Starter Kit!

3.  Buy the new Jumble alphabet stamp set (a sneak peek from the upcoming 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalog) at 20% off.  See the alphabet by by clicking the link to open a pdf

Download Jumble_Alphabet_sneakpeek

With so many great offers to choose from, your scrapbooking possibilities are endless!  And as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, your personal possibilities are endless, too.  Read the details here.

And as a personal goal, I want to complete two mini-scrapbook gifts and at least 10 pages of my own scrapbook during the month of May.  What's your goal?  No time like the present to record your past.  You'll be glad you did. 

I'll be sure to share the pages I complete with you on this blog, along with tips and techniques for your albums that incorporate Stampin' Up! accessories, tools, stamps, embellishments, inks and papers.  And I'd love to hear how YOU use your Stampin' Up! products in your scrapbooks.  Please share your tips and favorite tools or techniques with us in the comments section of this post or any during the month.

Hugs & Kisses Mini Scrapbook - An Altered Art Project

My past few posts have been using the Love You Much Bundle from Stampin' Up!  You can still take advantage of the savings (20% off) on the stamp set, Candy Lane Designer Series Paper and the Heart to Heart punch.  But don't delay, this offer is only good through Jan. 31.  Click on the Shop Now button on the right - you'll be linked to my website where you'll find the details.

Today I'm sharing a work in progress.  It's done except for the photos, which still need to be resized, printed, cut and added to the pages, pockets and tags of this cool book.

This is going to be a gift for my husband for Valentine's Day.  It'll be filled with photos of us, our son and daughter-in-law, and our grandchildren. 

The theme I chose was influenced by the stamp on the cover, "Hugs & Kisses", from the Love You Much stamp set.  So all of the pictures will be of us -- hugging or kissing the ones we love.

The color scheme was very easy to choose.  It's the Candy Lane Designer Series Paper, coordinating card stock, ink and ribbon, and a few pieces from Bella Rose DSP that use the same colors. (Those are Pirouette Pink, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White.)

Once the ribbon is untied, you can see how the book is put together.  It's made up of three CD literature folders made of sturdy but lightweight chipboard.  They're joined by the plain pages you'll see in the following photos, and inside each CD folder is an accordion-folded piece of card stock to which three mini envelopes or tags are attached.  There are MANY surfaces to hold photos, journaling and keepsakes.  I love the potential this book has.

Credit for the design goes to Patty Bennett, and you will enjoy seeing her versions of the book on her blog

Besides the card stock, stamp, ink, DSP and ribbon, I used the following tools:

Round Tab Punch

Scallop Border Punch

Scalloped Circle Punch

Scalloped Envelope Bigz die

Circles die

Big Shot

Scallop tags die for Big Shot (this is not yet a Stampin' Up! product but a girl can dream)

Scoring blade, 12" trimmer and bone folder

 

I'll probably add some more embellishments after the pictures are added and the journaling done.  After all, I have that fabulous new punch, Heart to Heart, that also coordinates with the Love You Much stamp set and which is just crying out to be used in a book called "Hugs & Kisses."

I hope you've enjoyed seeing this project as much as I have enjoyed making it.

   

Wishing you many hugs and kisses,

Carol

A Walk In The Park Scrapbook Page

In recognition of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I've pulled out lots of paper and ink in various shades of PINK.  I also happen to love Stampin' Up!'s In Colors Riding Hood Red and Pink Pirouette, and Bella Rose Designer Series Paper is fabulous!

The first of the projects is this scrapbook page created with the Big Shot die cutting machine and Stampin' Up!'s exclusive Bigz die, Top Notes.  Notice that the frame on the upper left-hand photo was the "throw-away" part left over after I cut out the Title Box.

  And speaking of the Title Box, the Title was also created with the Big Shot.  I combined two different alphabet dies:  Simply Serif and Go Go Boots.

Host a workshop soon and I'll show you and your guests how to use the Big Shot to create beautiful pages, too.

Or join one of my clubs: Stampers Six, Scrappers Six, or the Big Shots.  E-mail me for details.

Our Autumn Wedding Day - From My Scrapbook

Remember that I told you how much I love the Autumn, its sunny, colorful, crisp days?  I was ever so lucky to have such a perfect day for my wedding on Oct. 28, 2000.  We had a very small ceremony in a lovely country church close to Hanover, PA.  But after the ceremony we went outdoors to take photos.

While my groom Michael and I were leaning against a rugged old oak tree, a leaf floated down and I reached out and caught it.  It was too funny, and of course inspired this scrapbook page.  I'm holding that leaf in my right hand on the upper left-hand photo, if you look closely you'll see it.

All of the other leaves on the page were cut out by the Big Shot and the Leaf die.  After I got cranking them out for the card I shared with you yesterday, I decided to use some of them on this page.

The Chocolate Chip ink sponged around the edges of each leaf (with the sponge dauber) add a distressed look as well as helping to set the leaves apart from the background.  They're cut from chipboard to give them body and add texture to the page.

As a quick recap:  the Designer Series Paper is "Juntos" and can be found in Celebrando Creatividad,
the Spanish version of the Fall Winter catalog from Stampin' Up!

The border is strips of the same paper stitched onto the page with my sewing machine and mustard-colored thread, using a wide zig-zag stitch.  That adds more visual interest and texture.

I still had more leaves left, so I put a cluster of them at the bottom right-hand corner of the page.  That helps balance the page and fill that space.

And there's one more detail picture I'd like to show you.  It's the Title Box, which I also made using the Big Shot.  The alphabet is the Naturally Serif Sizzlits Decorative Strip Alphabet, and it made letters the perfect size for the title on this page, don't you think?

If you have any questions, or if you want to just tell me how much you LOVE my scrapbook page, just leave a comment for me or drop me an e-mail.  I'd love to hear from you!