Ruth's Stamping Escape

Valentine card - I {Heart} Hearts

Don't you love all of our punches.  They make my life so much easier.  Stamp, punch, punch, adhesive and layer.  You're done.  Well, it's almost that fast.  This card was very fast to make and nobody asked for help making a bow....not any of the 25 ladies that attended Stamp Camp on Saturday.  Usually, I hear "Oh Ruth, please help me make my bow."  Sometimes they just yell for "HELP."  Not this time because I showed them how to make a bow that is beautiful every time and there's no tying.  For this project, the ribbon is 8 1/2" long.  You fold, ribbon candy style, into 3 equal parts, leaving a little extra on each 'tail.'  Then scrunch the middle of the ribbon together and take your brad(opened up all the way) and wrap the tongs?(is that what they are) around the ribbon and close the tongs around the backside and adhere with a dimensional.  Is that clear as mud?  lmk.  Anyway, I learned to do that at Leadership in San Antonio a week ago and it is full proof.  EVERYONE did their own...well, Tricia had a little help but she likes to make me feel needed :-)  The background of this card is stamped with the background stamp 'En Francais' and it was happy to be taken out and used again.  I love that stamp and any background stamp for that matter.  Then we added lots of bling and it was such a pretty card.  Denise DeLawter, one of my 'Stampers with Sparkle,' inspired this creation.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year.

Mike and I went to the mountains/river to ring in 2012.  We took a  walk and just got lots of rest.  We even got little snow flurries. It was a nice, quiet weekend.  We sure can't party like we used to.  lol

Tomorrow, 1/3/2012, is the last day to order from the current Holiday Mini Catalog.  There's a really pretty Valentine's stamp set in that catalog and I am sad to see it go away after tomorrow.  Here are 2 samples made with the set.  It's called "You are Loved."

I love the use of the red and silver Glimmer paper on the 2nd one.  I love sparkle.

December Stamp Club - Valentine's Day

These are the 2 cards that my stamper-10 clubs made in December.  They are both Valentine's Day cards...one traditional with a heart and the other non-traditional and it can be used for many other occasions.  I love them both.  They are stunning IRL (in real life).  Both are embossed, both Big Shot Embossing folder embossed and heat embossed.

This one is striking in person with the black, red and gold.  The heart stamp is from the soon-to-retire Holiday Mini Catalog.  The set is "You Are Loved" item # 123777(w), # 123779 (c).  The 'love' sentiment is from the Holiday Mini Catalog also.  The set is "Hand-Penned Holidays" # 124310 (w), # 124312 (c).

I will be so sad to see the Holiday Mini catalog retire on January 3.  I was hoping that the Valentine stamp set would carry over but it will not and neither will the Hand-Penned set.  boo hoo

The heart is inked with Versa Mark ink and then black embossing powder is poured onto the inked image and then heat set.  The black cardstock is dry embossed with the Big Shot and the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder.  The metallic designer paper is from the Mocha Morning Specialty DSP pack # 122366.  It's really cool paper, some metallic and some flocked pages.  yummy. 

This card came from one of my friends and downline, Joan Kertz...thanks Joan...love it.

It is dry embossed with the Big shot and the Manhattan Flower Embossing Folder #114517.  The negative side of the embossing folder is inked with Versa Mark, then layer your cardstock on top of the inked 1/2 of the folder, run through Big Shot, pour Iridesent Ice Embossing Powder on top and heat emboss.  Then tear and layer.  Instant beautiful.  The sentiment is stamped from "Oval All" # 113790 and then punched out with the Large Oval Punch # 119855, then Pacific Point Cardstock is punched with the Scallop Oval Punch #119856.  The ribbon is Whisper White Organza Ribbon # 114319.

Not Just for Valentine's Day

Over the next several weeks, I'm going to try to showcase all the great stamps and accessories from the Occasions mini and the Sale-a-bration (SAB) mini catalogs.  The SAB mini is only good through the end of this month so there's only 3 weeks left to get your FREE picks from that little mini.  The Occasions mini is good through April, which is not that far away either.

At Leadership Conference (LC) in Nashville, there are hundreds of displays for us to see and take pictures of.  The following is one such sample.  It uses the 'Valentine Defined' stamp set and the Vintage Springtime Designer Series Paper (DSP) from the Occasions mini catalog.

This card could easily be a wedding, anniversary, birthday or any 'love' occasion card.  It's not just for Valentine's Day.  I love the pastel colors and soft vintage tones to it and then the Victoria crochet trim and seam binding ribbon give just the right finishing touches.  I really like this card a lot.  I think it could easily be turned in to a scrapbook page with a simple facing page with a perfect picture of that special event.  Don't you LOVE that DSP!  I'll have to stock up on it before it's gone for good.

 
 

Looks complicated but it's not

Valentine's Day is almost here.  Are you ready?  Have you made your cards and put them in the mail?  If not, you'd better get movin'.  If you put them in the mail tomorrow, they'll get there in time. 

Here's a pretty simple card but it looks complicated.  It uses the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder (if you don't have this by now...why not?).  It's a very popular Embossing Folder;  Square Scallop Bigz Die and the single Valentine's stamp from the Occasions Mini catalog.  Scallop Border Punch, Satin Ribbon, narrow ribbon, small heart punch.  Stamp the heart and then a lot of nice layering and you're done.