Technique Tuesday Shaker Card

This Tuesday was my scheduled Technique Tuesday stamp class. One of the techniques I was planning on showing was the shaker card technique. I created my class sample with the adorable stamp set Happy Heart Day. I knew my customers were going to love this card!

Sadly, the Wisconsin winter weather forced a cancellation - the 50 mph winds and -35 degree windchills were not conducive to stampers driving to my home.

February's Technique Tuesday's group will be making a different shaker card as it will be held towards the end of the month.

Here are some quick instructions - Stamp mouse image in StazOn on Real Red cardstock. Attach brads. I then used a non-SU circle punch for the window - you could also use a Coluzzle. I then layered and attached some acetate over it. Stamp butterfly image on a separate piece of Whisper White (make piece larger than punched circle), color in, and play with placement of image inside shaker.

After this is done, you need to put some double-stick foam tape or excess rubber from your cut-out stamp sets in a square design to buffer/block the shaker insides from scooting all over. Do not tear off protective strips on the outside yet.

Now carefully put in your shaker items - don't use too much or too little for the best effect. I used some heart confetti and Stampin' Up!'s micro beads.

Tear the protective strips off the double-stick foam tape. Place your focal image on top. I then put double-stick foam tape on the underside edges of my layer - it just helps with propping it up correctly.

I then colored in the flower with a white gel pen and made a tag and popped it up with Stampin' Dimensionals and added the jeweled brad! Mount on Basic Gray and Basic Black cardstock and attach to a Whisper White card.

Hope you enjoy!

Altered Dollar Store Frames

I have a bad habit of buying items that just scream out to be altered or stamped but then sit and sit for days/weeks/months until I have time to work with them.

I purchased these adorable purse frames from the local dollar store a while back. Now keep in mind I have THREE BOYS and no girls. I wouldn't even call myself a real girly-girl, but they kept calling me from the shelves.

With all the fabulous designer papers Stampin' Up! carries, I knew a cute design was inevitable! These were really quite easy and took very little time. I do like to use Craft Bond spray glue to adhere my projects...if you do just be sure to have good ventilation and protect your surfaces! I roughed up the edges with a sanding block and some stamped images, ribbon, and bling! I just love the Rose Red and Chocolate Chip combination!

2008 Spring/Summer Designer Paper Colors

The new Designer Series Paper in the 2008 Spring/Summer Catalog is gorgeous! My new favorite has to be Berry Bliss. Here is the color coordination for the Designer Series Paper:

Azure: Brilliant Blue, Very Vanilla
Bali Breeze: Old Olive, Taken with Teal, Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie
Berry Bliss: Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink, Close to Cocoa
Cutie Pie: Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, So Saffron
East Coast Prep: Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Tempting Turquoise, More Mustard
Flowers for You: Certainly Celery, Lovely Lilac, Regal Rose, Tempting Turquoise
Fall Flowers: Old Olive, Really Rust, Soft Sky, Sahara Sand
Ginger Blossom: Ruby Red, River Rock, Cameo Coral, Groovy Guava
Jersey Shore: Wild Wasabi, Pumpkin Pie, Brilliant Blue, Bashful Blue
Le Jardin: River Rock, So Saffron, Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke, Bashful Blue
Notebook: Soft Sky, Kraft, Vanilla
Olive Press: Old Olive, Very Vanilla
Porcelain Prints: Blue Bayou, River Rock, Wild Wasabi
Spring Break: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky
Spring Fling: Certainly Celery, Sage Shadow, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron
Spring Silhouettes: Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, Soft Sky, Very Vanilla
Western Sky: Ruby Red, River Rock, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky

Happy New Year, Happy New Catalog!

What an exciting start to a new year - a new catalog! If you haven't seen it yet, here is the cover!

There are some wonderful new stamps - lots of whimsical phrases and different styles to choose from. One of my favorites is Smarty Pants. I know I will have lots of fun using that set!

If you haven't preordered a catalog, I still have some extras. Give me a call or send me an email!

The 2007 Fall/Winter Stamp Set Retirement List

The 2007 Fall/Winter Stamp Set Retirement List came out yesterday morning. I was very pleased to see it came out early as I had to leave by 7:00 am for a craft/vendor show.

Not surprised about many of the retiring sets - well, except for a few of the newer sets with a more valentine or spring appeal.

Serene Sunflower is the one I am most upset about. I LOVE that set...just used it last week in fact for an out-of-the box card using it for a Christmas wreath. Looks Like Spring was a surprise too. I haven't used it in a while (duh, SPRING). Just thought those two would make it to the Spring catalog and then retire after that.

Most of my favorite go-tos for the fall/winter holidays will be gone...Booglie Eyes, Carved and Candlelit, Flaky Friends, and my beloved Frosty...I may just have to wear black on Tuesday for my It's a Wrap! class. I knew it would be his last year. He deserves retirement as I have sold probably 50+ Frosty sets since he joined our catalog! Now he can sit back at the Stamp Set Retirement Home and play shuffleboard with Stella Stamper!

I do not keep many retired sets - the only ones I have kept throughout the years are religious sets (for the card outreach program at my church) and some masculine-related stamp sets. I think I have a total of 5 retired sets that I still use. Frosty may join this bunch though as my set is soo stained from use and it is a great set to use with kids.

Well the good thing about this December retirement list is I can use my retired samples for Christmas cards this year and not have to store them for 6 months!!!!

I guess I will start December's posts with a tribute to a dear friend ... Frosty!

Happy Thanksgiving!

My customers are really important to me. Many of them I see more than my family and long-time friends. They share my love of stamping, and they look to me for ideas and inspiration.

Just a few weeks ago, I was blessed with a wonderfully happy moment. I was dropping off some items to one of my customers. She was not home, and her husband answered the door. I had called before I came so he was expecting me.

After I gave him the bag, he said "Jane, thanks for all you do." I must have look a bit puzzled. He went on, "My wife and her friends just love coming to your house. They look forward to it and always have such a great time. I hope you know how much fun they have!"

He said a few more kind words, and I told him how much I enjoyed having them stamp with me. There are some fabulous women in my customer circle!

I am so blessed in my life - wonderful husband and kids, family and friends, and a job and other interests which I am passionate about. My customers are a special blessing - and I am truly grateful for their friendship, loyalty, and inspiration.

Happy Thanksgiving - may your blessings be many!

A Stamper's Christmas Wish List

If you're a stamper, there is always something on your wish list. Why not make it easy for Santa this year? Here's a link to my Stamper's Christmas Wish List ~ hopefully, you'll get what you want for Christmas this year!

Stamping (and Laughing) With My Customers

This week, I held my third Technique Tuesday event. I had the techniques picked out for quite a while. I was actually surprised at how much I had prepared ahead of time. Thank goodness because it was one of those days when the to-do list was much too long (volunteering, cleaning, homework help, baking...).

I have three great boys and a husband who do help when it comes time to preparing the house for company. With my stamping business, that translates to about four or five evenings a month. There are jobs they love to do, and of course, some they don't like to do (you can include me in that one!).

Well, I was cutting out some of the pieces for a project and having to run a little interference in the household chores and the homework battle. I must have been pretty distracted because when my stampers got to the project later that evening, the pieces were not evenly cut. I wanted to just cry...I really love to pamper my stampers and try very hard to have projects all ready.

Leave it to my customers - they just laughed, took it in stride, and kept reminding ME that these were just samples for them. They totally understood and made me feel so much better.

Well, November is I Am So Thankful Month...and to all my customers...I am so thankful for you!

November Special

During the month of November, purchase three packs of our Designer Series Papers and receive one pack absolutely FREE!!! Regular shipping and tax will apply to the three purchased packs, there is no shipping or tax on the free pack.

Designer Series Papers are 12x12, patterned on both sides, come twelve sheets to a pack, and sell for only $9.95 per pack. These papers on pages 170-173 of the Fall-Winter Catalog and pages 12 and 19 of the Holiday Mini Catalog.

Here is a list of the paper packs and their coordinating card stock and ink colors:
Outlaw - Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Sage Shadow, Very Vanilla

Brocade Backgrounds - Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, River Rock
Fall Flowers - Old Olive, Really Rust, Sahara Sand, Soft Sky
Linen Prints - Always Apricot, Cameo Coral, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, Pink Passion
Porcelain Prints - Blue Bayou, River Rock, Wild Wasabi
Le Jardin - River Rock, Soft Sky, So Saffron, Very Vanilla
Uptown - Almost Amethyst, Basic Gray, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi
Wintergreen - Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, Sage Shadow, Soft Sky
Flowers for You - Certainly Celery, Lovely Lilac, Regal Rose, Tempting Turquoise
Petals & Paisleys - Certainly Celery, Taken w/Teal, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron
Creepy Crawly - Basic Black, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust
Notations No. 2 - More Mustard, River Rock, Very Vanilla, Wild Wasabi
Charbon - Basic Gray, Very Vanilla
Cerise - Real Red, Very Vanilla
Dashing - Old Olive, Real Red, River Rock, Very Vanilla
Cutie Pie - Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, So Saffron
Darling Doodles - Brocade Blue, Groovy Guava, Rose Red, Wild Wasabi
Apple Cider - Close to Cocoa, River Rock, Really Rust, Wild Wasabi
Holiday Harmony - Always Artichoke, Purely Pomegranate, River Rock
Prints - These papers come in twelve patterns of one color per pack: Lovely Lilac, Almost Amethyst, Soft Sky, Tempting Turquoise, Brilliant Blue, Blue Bayou, Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, River Rock, So Saffron, More Mustard, Close to Cocoa, Pumpkin Pie, Groovy Guava, Rose Red

Order your three packs and choose your fourth pack absolutely FREE. Call or email me today!!!

2007 Holiday Cards Stamp Camp

I held my 2007 Holiday Cards Stamp Camp this week. For my stamp camps, I am trying to focus more on card format and technique refreshers because I want to save the new techniques for my Technique classes. Here is one of the cards we did:

The Big on Christmas Criss-Cross Card was perfect for this stamp camp as it showed a different card format. I found the hardest part of the Criss-Cross Card (which is being featured all over the web) is visualizing what parts to cut off. I created a visual template for my customers. This really helped them cut the correct pieces. This will not be true to size, and the scan didn't pick up folded middle where cuts are made from.

I've uploaded the 2007 Holiday Cards Stamp Camp to my stamped art gallery - you can view it here: http://www.stampwithjane.com/stampcampgallerychristmas2007.html