Stampin' Up! Demonstrator – Meg Loven – Video Tutorials, Project Ideas, Order Online Any Time

Awash with Flowers: a springtime gift project

Need a fun hostess gift this spring?  Want to use a fabulous stamp set?  Here’s a project from my blog that features the Awash with Flowers stamp set (see it online) and ceramic tiles for a cheery gift idea.  We’re going to be saying goodbye to this stamp set on May 31st (learn about the retiring stamp sets & how to get the new catalog for free)

You can learn the technique for the flower tile here on my blog.

Or looking for another style of ceramic tile stamping?  The popular Season of Friendship stamp set (see it online) will also be retiring on May 31st, and it’s PERFECT for a set of ceramic tiles (learn the technique here on my blog).

Looking for more project ideas for these sets before adding them to your Retiring Stamp Set order?  Here you go!

• Awash with Flowers (project ideas)
• Season of Friendship (project ideas)
• Retiring May 31 (project ideas)

Happy Stamping!

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It’s a Mary Poppins Purse!

You remember that scene from Mary Poppins, where she opens her carpetbag and starts pulling belongings out?  And keeps pulling…and keeps pulling…?  Well the little Petite Purse Bigz Die (see it online) is going to be known as the Mary Poppins Purse Die on my blog.

I thought this little purse was going to be too tiny to fit much of anything… okay, maybe 3 Hershey’s Kisses.  But guess what?  It fits TEN (yes, 10!)!  And it’s a small die!

Maybe I’m getting a bit over excited here, but you might have noticed on my blog that I’m a big fan of cute little projects that include candy.  Because I think stamping is fun, but stamping with chocolate is BETTER.  So a little die that makes a perfect candy-sized purse is going to rate high in my book. (see some other candy projects on my blog)

I’m hearing that you’re going to need this one, too, so don’t forget that you’ll have to order it in April, because if you miss it in April, you’ll have to wait <<sniff, sniff>> until the new catalog comes out on June 1st.

Oh, same goes for the Summer Smooches Designer Series Paper (see it online).  And don’t miss the Summer Smooches Fabric Designer Brads (see them online), because the brads WON’T be in the new catalog — they’re only available this month.  I ordered 2 boxes.   (here are some other Summer Smooches projects on my blog!)

Happy Stamping!

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Party Planning: Designer Rosette Decor

Thinking about party decorations?  Wedding? Shower? The craze of rosettes has been going on for quite awhile (check some past posts) but the new Designer Rosette Die (see it online) makes them so easy! Here are two full-size rosettes that have been hanging in my stamp studio since the Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper debuted.

It’s hard to tell the size of these from the picture, but they’re about like dinner plates — they’re 10 3/4″ across with the scalloped edge.  They make great medallions to hang for an event.  Just choose colors that coordinate with your theme — think pink & blue for a baby shower, or shimmery white for a wedding shower.

You can even make fun simple table decor pieces.  Here are some floral picks created with the Designer Rosette Die.  I put a 12 x 6″ strip of paper through the Big Shot with the die, then cut the scored strip into 3 pieces to make these three mini rosettes.

Add a coordinated color theme mini rosette to your table flowers, or just make vases of the mini rosettes.  This ‘fancy’ vase is a repurposed Frappucino bottle.

Looking for tips on using your Designer Rosette Die?  Check the pointers that I posted on my blog.

Happy Stamping!

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Carrots for the Easter Bunny: Petal Cone Die

Need a fun treat for Easter events or just for fun?  Here’s one that uses the versatile Petal Cone Die (see it online) to make a carrot treat box fit for the Easter bunny.

The project is a bit updated from the one I posted last year (see it here).  This one uses only 3 panels of the Petal Cone die cut, instead of 4.  And the texture on the carrots is added with the Lots of Love Letterpress Plate (see it online).

Tips for using Letterpress Plates:

• Ink the plate with Versamark Ink for a highlighted shadow effect
• Instead of a regular cutting plate, use the Premium Crease Pad (see it online) when you put your plates through the Big Shot.  You’ll get a deeper impression.
• Want to see a video tutorial on it?  Here’s one that I did for another Petal Cone project (watch it here)

Like the tag from this project?  It’s created with the Elementary Elegance stamp set, which you can select for free when you order $50 from me during Sale-A-Bration (learn more!).

Recognize the shape of the Island Indigo banner behind the Curly Punch piece in the tag? It’s the banner strip from the Petal Cone Die!  With this project, you’ll use all 3 pieces of the Petal Cone die cut — the big triangle, the scallop half circle and the banner piece.

Lastly — I created this project for one of my workshop hostesses last week!  if you’d like to get friends together, too, and have a fun crafty evening, be sure to send me an email!  There are a few dates left in my March calendar, and I’d love to share some ideas with you, too.

Looking for ideas? Check out some other projects on my blog:

• Petal Cone Die projects (see them now)
• Letterpress Plates (see some ideas)
• Easter Projects (see them here)

Happy Stamping!

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Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A (pink) Pirate’s Life for ME!

This weekend we hosted 26 little 7 & 8 year old girls….errr…PIRATES for a Pink Pirate Birthday Party! Of course the party included a chance to stamp.  For one project, the girls each decorated a Pirate Notebook with alphabet and heart stamps.

I’m still recovering, but here are a few photos from our 2 hour voyage, plus our ‘message in a bottle’ party invitations, complete with sand!

Pink Pirate Party food:

• “Sea Brine — For Pirates Only!” (stickers on water bottles)
• Foamy Seas  (blue jello in a clear cup with Swedish Fish and whipped cream on top)
• Cake & Ice Cream (pre-scooped into pink muffin liners with a pirate sail toothpick on top)
• Goldfish crackers, carrots & celery

Pink Pirate Crafts:

• “A Pirate’s Life for Me” Notebooks
• Pirate Treasure Chests (gotta love glue & rhinestones!)

Pink Pirate Party Games:

• Dig for Buried Treasure (sandbox with buried beads)
• Pin the Pirate on the Ship
• Cannonball Pop (blow up black balloons with notes inside — “Walk like a pirate!”, “Say AARG!”

Love the font on the notebook?  I found some great free pirate fonts online.  This one is called Windlass.

Happy Stamping!

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Rosette Relief = Designer Rosette Die

Okay, I love my Simply Scoring Tool for all kind of projects, but when it comes to making Rosettes, I am completely in LOVE with the new Designer Rosette Die for the Big Shot!

Here’s a project I created for my current Stamps in the Mail Club Round, using the Timeless Portrait Designer Series Paper and the Forever Young stamp set, plus the sweet single stamp, Elegant Thank You.  The background shape is cut with the new Framelits Labels Collection.

The first time I put Designer Series Paper in this die, then folded the scores and ended up with a rosette in about 1.5 minutes… oh, I was in HEAVEN!  Really, I think I did a little dance in front of my Big Shot to express my happiness.

Here are my tips for the Designer Rosette Die (see it online):

1. For DSP, using the Extended Premium Crease Pad (see it online) on top instead of the top Cutting Plate was perfect.  My crease lines were crisp enough to fold easily, and no white paper core showed through when I folded them.
2. I did this small medallion with a 1.75 x 12″ strip of DSP — only one strip was needed.  The score lines are a little further than 1/4″ apart, so it has a slightly different look than the 1/4″ Simply Scored rosettes.
3. To attach the ends of the paper strip, I used Green-Lid Glue (aka Multipurpose Liquid Glue — see it online).
4. To flatten the medallion and hold it in place, I used the Green-Lid Glue again.  The trick is that the medallion isn’t quite flat on top, so I held the medallion down to make the back flat on my project (or on a punched backing circle) for a minute or two until the glue set.  Since the medallion isn’t quite flat on top, it doesn’t work to set a book on top to hold it down til the glue sets.  Make sense?
5. I love that the die has a zig-zag on one edge, and a scallop on the other.  That way you can cut a strip with either decoration, or just put your strip across the middle to make the ends plain.  Just be sure to make the strip exactly straight across, or the folds won’t cooperate when you try to assemble the rosette.  In fact, it’s probably more reliable to cut a full 5″ strip and then trim it into 3 pieces.  But still — love the edge choices!

Eek!  Okay, just writing about this, I’m getting excited about making more rosettes

You might want to know about sizes for the finished Rosettes, too.  Here’s the range that I found:

• Use 3 full strips of DSP (5 x 12″ each) — finished rosette is 11-3/4″ wide.  Perfect for home decor or a really big scrapbook page background.
• Use a single strip of DSP (1-3/4 x 12″) — finished rosette is nearly 4″ wide.
• Use a single strip of DSP (1-1/2 x 12″) — finished rosette is about 3″ wide.

Have fun with these, and watch for my upcoming Video Tutorial!  And be sure to check out more of my Occasions Mini Catalog project ideas.

Happy Stamping!

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Nature Walk: Inspirational Gift Ideas

Still looking for a few gift ideas this season?  Here’s one that can inspire your stamping creativity plus inspire your recipient.  Recently, my friend Karyn brought me a poem that her god-son, Timothy Jochim, had written her years ago.  The original frame had seen better days and the paper was fading, but the prayer inside holds special meaning for her and she wanted to know if I could turn it into something that she can display.

Break out the stamps, embellishments and a new frame, and here we go!  I used the Nature Walk stamp set (see it online) and an assortment of Crochet Trim, Pearls and Seam Binding Ribbon.  The colors are Marina Mist, Not Quite Navy, River Rock and Soft Suede.

To make a soft border around the edges of the text, I used my brayer and layered ink slowly–just a little bit at a time, until I was happy with the effect.  The soft texture matches with the organic feel of the pencil-drawn stamp set.

To add extra impact to the message, I printed the prayer a 2nd time, and cut out a few words.  I used Sponge Daubers to gently ink the edges of the words and raised them with Stampin’ Dimensionals.  To balance the dimension, I cut out and added one of the Nature Walk birds with Dimensionals.

The prayer is beautiful — here is the text, if you are interested:

Daily Prayer…

by Timothy Jochim

My dear Lord God
To you I pray,
That you will help me
Through this day.
I will not worry
Of the past,
For the future
Is coming fast.
I’ll put my humble
Faith in you,
And know your love,
Will see me through.
The hard times I
Endure today,
Will only help me
On my way,
For as my pain lasts
All the longer,
It’s only there,
To make me stronger.
I promise I
Won’t leave your side,
And by your laws
I will abide.
I love you till
The very end,
For you are my
Eternal friend,
In Jesus name I pray… Amen.

I hope you have fun this weekend, working on projects and getting ready for the holidays!  If you’re looking for more ‘home decor’ type projects, you can browse a few on my blog.

Happy Stamping!

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Flight of the Butterfly: A Photo Holder

Looking for a fun holiday gift project? A vacation project to make with kids?  You’ll want to be sure to add the Flight of the Butterfly stamp set to your collection at 50% off until November 30th as part of the ONLINE EXTRAVAGANZA (see it online), as well as the matching Butterfly Punch (see it online) so you can make these fun Photo Holder Clips!

The Flight of the Butterfly and the matching punch are a quick way to add fun ornaments to any project.  And what project can’t use a butterfly?

If you want to make these yourself, be sure to check my original post for the directions and details.

Be sure to check my other Online Extravaganza posts for more ‘don’t miss’ ideas with these sale items!

Happy Stamping!

To Order Stampin’ Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!

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Spice Cake Gift Boxes: sounds yummy to me…

Alas, there’s no actual cake involved in this project, unless of course some fabulous blog reader decides to send me cake… just saying…  But the Designer Series Paper here is the Spice Cake Designer Series Paper (see it online) from the Holiday Mini Catalog (browse online).

The stamped leaf at the top of the box is from the 2-step Gently Falling stamp set (see it online), stamped in More Mustard and Soft Suede to match the Spice Cake Designer Fabric (see it online) and the giant Spice Cake Designer Button (see it online).

The box pleat folds around the edges of the box are easy to accomplish with the help of the new Simply Scored Scoring Tool (see it online).  Each ‘box’ of the pleat is 1/4″ deep, so set up your Simply Scored and score at 1/4″, 1-1/4″, 1-1/2″, 2-1/2″, 2-3/4″, 3-3/4″, 4″, 5″, etc. for the length of the paper.  Another tip — be sure to attach your Designer Series Paper to the card stock strip before you begin scoring.  That way both pieces will be scored exactly the same and folding will be easier.

Fold to create the box pleats, then adhere to your Kraft Gift Box with Sticky Strip.  Looking for more Gift Box ideas?  Be sure to check them out on my blog! (click here for ideas)

Happy Stamping!

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Through the Year Calendar Class: Attend or get it “to go”

Attention!  Holiday Gift Idea!! And this one is SO easy — pre-printed and ready to embellish with a little box full of goodies!  This My Digital Studio Print Product will be ready for you at class, whether you attend in person or order your kit “to go”. Cost is only $28 for the Class Kit, and if you want to make extra calendars, they’re only $23 each!  If you get your kit “to go”, add $5 for shipping/materials.

Through The Year Calendar Class —

• Monday, December 5 for daytime or evening sessions! Also available as a “TO GO” in the mail
• Meets in my stamping studio in Mahomet, Illinois.
• Daytime: noon to 2 pm
• Evening: 6:30 to 8:30 pm

Personalize Your Project! The 10″ x 5″ easel calendars are made with a spiral binding of glossy pages on high-quality board backing.  Your calendar sits on the front of each page, and if you turn to the back, you can fill each 5 x 10″ page with personal photos for each month.  Just add your photos at home when our class is finished.

The Kit couldn’t be easier! This is a FABULOUS Holiday Gift, and SO easy to prepare.  You don’t need to know ANYTHING about My Digital Studio, although I’ll warn you that might be pretty interested in learning more after you see how beautiful the Print Products can be! This project is also an easy way to have a fun sample of My Digital Studio products to share with your friends.  Your calendar and a Stampin’ Store container with all your embellishments will be ready for each calendar you order.

Learn about My Digital Studio! At the class we’ll have a short 20 minute ‘how to’ session about My Digital Studio.  I’ll include some tips for beginners and a few ‘tricks’ for those who have some My Digital Studio experience.  Can’t attend the class?  No problem!  If you’re getting the kit “to go” then I’ll have an exclusive Video Tutorial covering the same material available shortly after our class meets on December 5th.

Simplify Your Holiday Shopping! Check a few special people off your Christmas list this year and present them with these gorgeous personalized calendars — complete with 3-D embellishments that will make your gift the talk of your family for years to come.

BE SURE TO REGISTER before November 15th so your calendar will be ready!!  Your class fee must be received by the 15th. You can RSVP directly on my website for the daytime session (click here) or the evening session (click here).  I’ll check with you to see how many calendars you want to make, then send you a PayPal request or email a total if you’d prefer to pay by check.

To sign up for a “to go” kit, just email me your request and the number of calendars you’d like to make ($28 plus $23 for each additional calendar, and $5 shipping/prep for all).  I’ll send you a PayPal request for the total, or you can send me a check.  Payments must be received by November 15th.

Any questions? Just drop me an email and I will respond promptly! I look forward to helping you with your Holiday Crafty Projects!

Happy Stamping!

To Order Stampin’ Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!

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