Scrap-a-Doodle Stamping

Stencil It On

  Stencils can be used for almost anything! This card is made with Stampin' Up!s new decor stencils called Folk Flowers (#118139). This page is from the current Occasions mini catalog. You can see that the stencil is much larger than just the part that I used. Here's how I did it.

I used regular scotch tape to cover up the pieces that I didn't want painted. I put tape on both sides so that it wouldn't stick to my cardstock. Then I used some acrylic paints and a stiff bristle stipple brush.   Just pull the stencil up and you have your design. When I was finished, the paint washed off the stencil easily in the sink.

To finish this card off, I put glue dots on the back of a leaf from the Sweet Pea Stitched Felt (#117266) and a button from SU! Playground (#116313) Designer Buttons.

You can use these stencils to paint on walls, furniture, fabric, whatever you have. It's so easy!

Finding a Focus

Ever have a time when you just didn't stop stamping soon enough? You just kept on playing with your stamps and before you realized it you had a really busy background. There are times that busy works but most of the time simple is better. Here is a busy background. It's not really that bad. It's just busy & your eyes don't have a place to rest. These stamps are from the Good Friend (#113740) stamp set. The green bird was punched out with the Extra Large Two-step Bird (# 117191) punch in the new mini catalog.

This can be fixed by adding a focal point, something to focus your eyes. I stamped a greeting (Good Friend) from the set in Glorious Green classic ink onto Whisper White cardstock. I adhered it to the bottom right corner. I could add some brads to it if I wanted to give it a bit more interest but I felt that there was already enough "stuff" on the card that it didn't need any more.

I'm not really an expert on design or anything. I've never studied design or color theory. I just enjoy the looks of the things that I do. This is just what I think works. I hope that I give you some good ideas.

Scalloped and Embossed

  For the lacy look on this card, I used my Stampin' Up Perfect Details(#115962) texturz plate and my Eyelet Border (#113692) punch on Very Vanilla cardstock. I ran a piece of cardstock measuring about 5 x 4 " through my Big Shot (#113439) with the texturz plate to do the embossing. Then I used the Eyelet Border punch to cut the lacy border all the way around the cardstock. I used another "medallion" that I had cut from Bella Bleu (#113974) Designer Series patterned paper to pop onto the Stampin' Dimensionals (#104430) and place in the center of the Very Vanilla. I adhered that to a background piece of Bordering Blue cardstock cut at 4 1/2 x 5 1/2."

The "happy birthday" greeting was stamped on Very Vanilla using a stamp from the Teeny Tiny Wishes (#115370) set in Bordering Blue ink. That was cut out with the Word Window (#105090) punch and placed on a piece of Bordering Blue cardstock cut with the Modern Label (#116630) punch.

The ribbon knotted at the bottom of the card is Bashful Blue 1/2" striped grosgrain (#110717) ribbon.

Paper Doilies add to the Flavor

While some paper crafters look absolutely EVERYWHERE for items to use on projects, others (especially newbies) haven't learned yet to look in other departments and stores for paper crafting supplies. I know many paper crafters who look in hardware stores or departments for items to use but how many of you look in cooking areas? I love using paper doilies on projects to remind me of the one my grandmother used to crochet when I was little. This is the time of year when you can sometimes find heart shaped doilies to use. I haven't found any heart shaped ones this year but several years ago I found several sizes of these that were also acid free. Anyway, circle doilies can be found just about any time of the year in the area where supplies for cake decorating are found.

I love the lacy look the doilies give to a card. I adhered this one to a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" piece of Not Quite Navy cardstock. For the "medallion" that I placed in the center of the card, I cut out some of the designs found on a sheet of Bella Bleu Designer Series (#113974) patterned paper. I was actually able to cut several designs from a half of a sheet to use on different projects.

I made the medallion pop by placing a few Stampin' Dimensionals (#104430) on the back of it.

The greeting was stamped on Whisper White cardstock using a phrase from the Heard from the Heart (#111644) stamp set. I used my 3/16" corner rounder (#109047) punch to round off the edges of the cardstock.

Flying in with Valentines

Here I go again, combining different crafts! Once again, I'm combining polymer clay with my cards. Hope you like it.

I used So Saffron cardstock for the card base and layer Bashful Blue cardstock over it. The Bashful Blue has one edge trimmed with the Eyelet Border (#113692) punch to give it a bit more frilly look. I cut Real Red cardstock with my Full Heart (#113693) punch and my Heart to Heart (#113694) punch. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the stamp with 3 hearts in the I {Heart} Hearts (#118571) stamp set could easily be punched out by lining those hearts up in the Heart to Heart punch. (Remember, if you buy this set by the end of this month, that $2 of it goes to Haiti relief.) These hearts are stamped with Brilliant Blue on Whisper White cardstock.

The ribbon on the left side is Real Red 3/4" Polka-dot grosgrain (#115608) ribbon from Stampin' Up!

For my fairy girl, I used several different colors of polymer clay. I worked the clay & cut it out with either clay cutters or my craft knife. Then I cooked it for 10 minutes in 265 degree oven. After she cooled, I put LOTS of glue dots (#103683) on the back of the clay and pressed her onto the card. I put 1 mini glue dot on the back of the small heart and pressed onto her hand. I think that if you wanted, if you carefully pull the fairy off the card, that you could hot glue a pin to the back and wear her on your clothing. She might not be the best for an elegant party but little kids would love her!

Tomorrow, I plan to post an idea of how to deliver some of those Valentine goodies that you like to give. Be sure to check back to see what I do for that!

Gumball Candy Shaker

Remember the Sweet Treat cups (#116802) that came out in the Holiday mini catalog? Well, now Stampin' Up! has created another stamp set that works great with them.

IMO, these are just too cute! They make great shaker cards. On this card, I've added colored buttons to accent the jelly beans and hearts stamped on the side. A child would just love to shake these around. Many adults would too. All of the stamps for this card come in the Something Sweet (#118589) stamp set found in the Occasions Mini. The greeting is stamped on Whisper White cardstock and punched out with my favorite Word Window (#105090) punch and backed with Real Red cardstock punched from the Modern Label (#116630) punch. To punch the hole that I put the Sweet Treat cup through, I used my 1-3/4" Circle Punch (#112004).

You can put anything that you want inside the treat cups. They are great for adding a candy treat for someone special. The only drawback with adding anything edible is that you have to tear the card apart to get to the treat. These cups could also work as shaker boxes on scrapbook pages depending on how much space you have in your album. The Sweet Treat cup is 1/2" in height. There are also Padded envelopes(#116911) available to use if you mail the card.

Embossed Valentine Card

Today's card is using the same technique with the aluminum foil and the Stampin' Up! Perfect Details texturz plate (#115962) that I used for Monday & Tuesdays cards. For this one, I used the opposite side of the plate. Since these are 2 sided, you get double your money on these cool embossing plates.

I did have a bit more trouble with this one, I assume, because of all the curved lines on this design. A thicker sheet of foil might have worked better. The curves wanted to cut right through the foil so I had to be careful when I painted it and wiped the paint off.

The edge on the Pink Passion cardstock is cut with the Scallop Edge (#112091) punch. The greeting comes from Teeny Tiny Wishes (#115370) set. One reason I love this set and use it so much is because every greeting in this set will fit in the Word Window(#105090) punch.The cute Bashful Blue and Brilliant Blue hearts are from the I {Heart} Hearts (#118571) set found in the Occasions Mini Catalog.