Mounting the Holy Triptych stamp set

At Stampin' Up!'s Convention in July, Jen Bailey mentioned using the Stamp-a-Ma-Jig to mount two-step stamp sets. I filed that away in my head (I thought) and promptly forgot about it.

Fellow demonstrator and SUDSOL member, Maggie Fellow, didn't forget. She posted a tutorial yesterday on her blog demonstrating the technique using the two-step stamp set Heartfelt Thanks. Then she wondered if anyone had tried using Jen's mounting technique for the beautiful holiday stamp set, Holy Triptych.

So I did. (Ain't sharing grand??!)

Mount the tag image normally.

Stamp the tag image. Do not lift the stamp back up immediately – carefully fit the positioner into place at the top left of the wood block before moving the block away.

Pull the block away without moving the positioner.

Strip off the paper covering from the unmounted Holy Family rubber, exposing the adhesive. Place the piece rubber side down to fit as you want it to inside the stamped tag image. (Be careful not to move the positioner.)

Tip: Use a pencil to nudge the rubber into place.

Holding on to the positioner with one hand, place the Holy Family wood block on top of the adhesive-topped rubber, bringing the wood block to fit snugly against the positioner. Press down firmly when it is in place to adhere the rubber.

Now you can turn the block over and see where the rubber is placed on the block. Attach the label on the other side. Repeat the process with the remaining two figure images. The mounting is complete.

When you’re ready to stamp your images, start by stamping the tag image. Bring the positioner into place before removing the tag image wood block. Without moving the positioner, ink up the figure image and stamp it by aligning with the positioner. It fits!

A Sneak Peek

Here's a little peek at the tutorial coming your way this weekend. These stars are fun, fast and festive! (How's that for alliteration?)

Made from double-sided designer paper, you can decorate a whole tree with these babies!

More to come....

We have a winner...or two...or three....or.....

Let's give a big round of virtual applause to the 1000th Stamp Journey visitor....Ms. Allison of Calgary, Alberta!

I'm originally from Canada, so it pleases me that Allison lives in the same town as my brother. :-)

And because I live in the gracious South, it also pleases me to announce that I'm sending blog candy to...

• Ms. Cheryl of Sun Prairie, WI
• Ms. Krystie of Bellvue, WA
• Ms. Phyllis of Goodville, PA

Thank you to all of you who left comments or emailed me congratulations. This was fun!

Are you visitor 1000?

The very next person who visits will be my 1000th visitor since I started this blog 29 days ago. Wow! I'm impressed...and grateful!

So the next person who logs in and sends me an email stating this exact phrase "I am your 1000th visitor. May I have some blog candy, please?" will get a small gift from me.

Remember to include your full name and address so I can send you some goodies!

World Card Making Day Celebration Oct. 6

Join me and my favorite fellow demonstrators for FREE giveaways, door prizes, make-'n-takes, refreshments, demonstrations, and displays to inspire the paper artist in you. Enjoy special sale prices on new and used Stampin' Up! stamp and scrapbooking products.

Date: Saturday, Oct. 6/07

Time: Anytime between 1 - 6 p.m.

Where: Rivermoore Clubhouse
4720 Meadow Park Lane, Suwanee GA, 30024
Click here for a map.

Cost: Free!

Contact if you have need directions: 678-467-1330 (Kathleen's cell phone)

No children under 12, please.

More Fun and Fast Notes

A few more samples using Fun and Fast Notes -- there's a stamp for nearly every occasion!




Mini notes are not the only possibility for this stamp set...




These images make great focal points, too.

One of the nice things about mounting your own stamps is you get to determine exactly how the stamp goes together. My personal preference is to cut away the words appearing at the bottom of the image and mount those words on the end of the block.

Total control -- YES!

All of you out there reading this, wave at me if you're a bit of a control freak, too....c'mon....I know you're out there. Ah, I see Joy and Mikelle and Missy... Kate, Donna, Daryl, Shel, Andrea... [waving back]

Fun and Fast Notes

I love to watercolor, and the Fun and Fast Notes set gives me plenty of opportunities to get out my beloved watercolor crayons and aqua painter.







This stamp set is such a good value -- eight images just crying out to be watercolored. The words below each image can be cut away and mounted on the end of each wood block to give you even more flexibility.






The watercolor crayons are my personal fav way to color...but they're certainly not the only way to go. You can use watercolor pencils, blenders, artist brushes, markers, reinkers, and stamp pads. So many choices!

Sharing Christmas In My Heart

This card started out as an exercise in "faux cracked glass." But the more I played with it, the more I found myself wanting to do the real cracked glass technique. So I did!

The main image is from the stamp set, "Sleigh Bells Ring" and includes a lovely old-fashioned winter scene, plus a great holly leaf stamp and the sentiment "Welcome Christmas into your heart." I stamped it in Timber Brown Stazon ink and used the ticket corner punch on the piece before I embossed it with Glassy Glaze powder and cracked it.

The base is Barely Banana cardstock, very lightly treated to the Weathered background stamp in Barely Banana classic ink. The Ivory wide grosgrain ribbon is lightly stamped in Bravo Burgundy classic ink (using the holly image) and threaded through a buckle from a Hodgepodge Hardware kit in aged copper...and it's just one of many, many classy pieces that come in this kit.

The tag is stamped, then punched out and edged using a dauber.

The Sleigh Bells Ring stamp set would work great for tags and holiday scrapbook pages, too! In fact...I think I'll go make a tag now. LOL!

Chocolate Snowflake

I just received the new Designer Wrapping Paper from Stampin' Up!'s Holiday Mini Collection, and just had to play with it. The sheen of the wrapping paper is so pretty!

Of course you can wrap gifts with it -- and I certainly will -- but I was curious to see what else I could come up with...this paper is so sturdy that I was easily able to use my corner rounder to create a scalloped edge, and to put it through a crimper. Two HUGE rolls come in a great storage box that is just begging to be prettied up. :-)

Stamps: The Snowflake Spot
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue, Blizzard Designer Wrapping Paper
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue
Accessories: Ice Rhinestone Brad, Paper Piercing tool, Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon, Corner Rounder, Daubers, Circle punches, Crimper

Fall into Autumn

Cooler temperatures here in the deep South have me looking forward to the changing of the leaves that's to come. So far, the only leaves that have "changed" are the ones that are falling off because of the extended drought we've had this summer.

The sample above uses a stamp set that is not only appropriately called "Autumn Fest" but is also part of the Fall Frenzy promotion. You can get this stamp set at 30% off with a purchase of only $30...but you have to place your order by September 28th to qualify for this special!

The sentiment "love you" is one of the images in the Short and Sweet stamp set.

Mmmm....crisp air, falling leaves....hot chocolate, anyone?

Pajama Party Pals

"Boots" surveys a framed project I was trying to shoot. He seems to approve, don't you think?


At the Stampin' Up! convention this summer, we each received a ticket to have a professional photograph taken for the pajama party held one evening at the Convention Center. (Yes, thousands of women in pajamas wandered around downtown Denver on their way to and from this event -- too much fun!)

Well, of course OUR group just had to be a little different. We pooled our tickets and had a group photo made of us in our p.j.'s.

Becoming friends with these talented women is just one of the perks of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator...but it's the perk I love most!

Pictured in back row, L to R: Me, Cindy, Susan (my Stampin' Up! "Mom"), and Cindy
Pictured in front row, L to R: Theresa and Olivia


Paper: So Saffron Designer Paper, Vellum cardstock
Capital Letter: Letterpress Alphabet, Ticket corner punch, Crystal Effects
Small Letters: On Board chipboard Lots of Letters, stamped and covered in Crystal Effects
Stamp Set: Garden Whimsy
Ink: Apricot Appeal classic inkpad

Precious Baby

Precious babies deserve precious cards, don't they? If you love watercoloring like I do, you must adore the Watercolor Wonder Crayons from Stampin' Up! Not only do they (of course) match the basic 48 colors of card stock, markers, patterned two-sided paper, brads, eyelets and ribbon....it is SO easy to get watercolor effects that make your art look like you're Monet himself!

The baby card above features the set Bundled in Love and another scallop edge....this one is made with punched out circles adhered to the inside edge. For a peek at another scalloped edge effect, look here.

The Color of Joy

As much as I love the traditional colors of Christmas, I delight in discovering an unusual holiday color combination. You can make your card stand out from the rest with this combination of Sage Shadow and More Mustard.

The ribbon is from the Jersey collection of Ribbon Originals. The metal embellishment is one of the 238 pieces in the Hodgepodge Hardware kit.

Here's a couple more samples using the beloved Lovely As A Tree stamp set.

Boo!

Boo, indeed!

Aren't these just too cute? What a great addition to your "boo-tiful" Halloween table! Or how about filling with yummy treats to give special treat-or-treaters!

Using the Creepy Crawly designer paper and the Booglie Eyes stamp set from Stampin' Up!, these boxes are easy to put together.

Jaron Winder showed these cuties off at Stampin' Up!'s Convention in late July.

Too Little Time, Too Few Photos

While I was in Denver for Stampin' Up!'s annual convention, I of course took a few photos. The key phrase here is "few."

I was so busy with all the great classes, demonstrations and swapping that I did a lousy job as a photo-journalist!

While reviewing my meager stock of digital photos, I knew I had to pull off a minor miracle to create a scrapbook.

Help came in the form of a Simply Scrappin' Kit from Stampin' Up! The kit I used is called Creative License, and it only takes a party order of $150 to receive it. Armed with only the Scrappin' Kit, my few photos, a cheesy Denver brochure I picked up at the hotel, and an empty DVD tin I was able to put together a mini album that nicely captures my favorite convention moments.

Tell me what you think!

I only used about a third of the Scrappin' kit, so there's lots of elements and cardstock left to create other mini albums...I love the textured cardstock!

Check out my Slide Show!

Got Scallops?

This is another Convention piece, this time a card that measures 6 inches x 3 inches. Aside from the yummy Fairy Tale ribbon and the cool rhinestone in the middle of the flower, this card features scallops along the front edge. (That's a strip of Cutie Pie Designer Paper peeking out under the scallops...too cute!)

So...how are the scallops done, she asked coyly?

It's easy if you have a Stampin' Up! 3/16 inch corner rounder punch. :-)

Start by removing the paper guide from the punch. It slides off quite easily. Turn the punch over and line it up along the bottom edge of the piece you want to punch. (The right side of the punch should be at the right vertical edge of your piece.) Punch once, and move the punch over to the left, very slightly overlapping the left side of the scallop you just punched. Punch again. Continue to slide and punch along the length of the piece until you have the number of scallops you wish. That's it!

For Those Who Asked....

People keep asking about the cool stuff we did at the Stampin' Up! Convention in July...the tips and tricks and especially the fun projects. I was doing some organizing in my stamp studio and came across a couple of pieces I brought home from Convention.

Here's one showing off the hatpins and beads from the Pretties kit, as well as two great new stamp sets, Define Your Life and Defining Alphabet. What a great combo these two sets are!

The card is made using one of the new In Color selections, Soft Sky textured cover stock and the ribbon is new, too -- it is 5/8 inch grosgrain ribbon in Chocolate Chip.

This is a 3x3 notecard -- perfect for gift cards or for those times when you just need a little something to send to a friend. Don't forget the envelopes!

Another Sample using Autumn Fest

After such a hot summer in Georgia, I'm thankful for the somewhat (!) cooler days and especially nights. And I'm grateful for this too cute set, Autumn Fest, which is part of the Fall Frenzy special this month from Stampin' Up!

Autumn Fest stamp set is only $16.77 (item #109373, page 108) when you buy $30 of regular priced merchandise from me...but hurry -- I need to place the order before the end of the month, so you'll need to email me at maccreative@mac.com or call me at 678-467-1330 by Sept. 28. Full details of this promotion are one post down. :-)

Fall Frenzy Promotion

I just love the possibilities with the Autumn Fest stamp set. Just think... Thanksgiving invitations, place cards, menu cards, napkin rings, coordinating decorated candles. This month you can get this great set for 30% off!

Spend $30 in regular priced merchandise and qualify to purchase one of each of the six promotional stamp sets listed below at 30 percent off!
105355 page 26 Bitty Boos Too $12.57
109284 page 29 Haunting Halloween $13.27
107383 page 30 Thoroughly Thankful $16.07
109373 page 108 Autumn Fest $16.77
109421 page 91 Elementary Essentials $19.57
110366 page 17 Stem Silhouettes $22.37 (from the 2007 Holiday Mini Collection)

Click here for flyer

I'll be posting some other samples in the next few days...stay tuned!

Promotion ends September 28th. Call or email me to place an order!
Kathleen Innes maccreative@mac.com 678-467-1330