Hooray, Blogger is back! (and Part 5/5 of May Class Projects)

Some of you may have noticed that Blogger went through a rough patch towards the end of last week.  This totally threw a kink in my plans to post this last project, but it's finally here!

This little card took FOREVA to design.  I knew I wanted it to be masculine so my ladies could have a card ready to rock for Father's Day in June, but up until the day before my class, I couldn't come up with anything to do this stamp justice.

So in a fit of panic and desperation, I started coloring, sponging and crimping and this is what I ended up with.  The stamped image is sponged and colored with Bashful Blue, Crumb Cake, and Sahara Sand.  Since creating this card, i've received my Color Spritzer tool, and if I could do it all again, i'd spritz up the card base to add interest to the background, but that's going to be a technique for another class =)

The "Ah-Ha!" moment on this card was when I realized I had no room for a sentiment on the front and I tucked the little "Just 4 you" from Hodgepodge Happiness on the side.  At that moment, this card lunged ahead to my favorite for the month, both because I thought it was kinda clever, and also because I always feel accomplished when I finish a "boy card" =)

You've now seen all my class projects for the month... which one is your favorite?

Thanks for stopping by!
Michey

DETAILS - Products are available for purchase from me  at Stampin' Up

Stamps: Sail Away, Hodgepodge Happiness
Paper: Sahara Sand, Not Quite Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Watercolor Paper
Ink: Staz-on Black, Watercoloring with Sahara Sand, Bashful Blue, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Decorative Label Punch, Bakers Twine, Blender Pen

May Class Projects - Part 4 of 5

Here's another card I'm teaching to my girls in our class this month.

Now, this one was actually a special request from one of my students who saw the Build-a-Blossom stamp and Blossom Petals punch in the now-retired occasions mini catalog and really wanted to see how a project with it came together.

Stampin Up has already announced that the punch for this set will be carrying over, and I hope beyond hope that the coordinating stamp set will return as well, but despite it's current unavailability, I wanted to show my friend what all the fuss was about with this particular punch =)

In demonstrating this card, I provided an assortment of petal stamps from the Build-a-Blossom set pre-arranged on an acrylic block, and provided a few tips on how to easily position the stamps on the block so you know it will match up with the punch.  Then, I turned the ink and paper over to the girls and away they went! I encouraged them to use an assortment of petals in their projects, and they came up with some stunning combinations!  I LOVE when they personalize their projects and make them their own!

The leaves were also a fun little touch.  After punching them out, they were folded  in half along the length, and ran through the crimper to give them a variegated look.  that got quite a few squeals of delight from my attendees =)  Another neat trick uses the Framed Tulips Embossing folder, but instead of using it the "normal way", I turned it on its side so that it didn't frame out the full card front.  Instead, it provided a nice little top and bottom border effect for our 3d flower.

So, you've now seen 4 out of 5 cards for this month's class... what do you think so far?

Thanks for stopping by!
Michey

DETAILS - Products are available for purchase from me  at Stampin' Up

Stamps: Build-a-Blossom, Hello You
Paper: River Rock, Whisper White, Always Artichoke
Ink: peach parfait, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Build-a-blossom punch, Glimmer Brads, Framed Tulips Embossing Folder

May Class Projects - Part 3/5

Here's a look at another card my students are making as part of my May class.  You've already seen the butterfly friendship card I made using a set that is 30% of for the rest of this month, and you've also hopefully taken a look at the birthday card using Love Letter DSP.  Well, next up is.....

This was my first serious foray into 2 step stamping and HOLY COW, it couldnt have been easier! The stamping part of this card was a cinch - seriously!  We didn't even need to mess with a stamp-a-ma-jig to get the different layers lined up, it was just kinda eyeballed and voila, near perfect placement every time!

First, I stamped the main flower image repeatedly using So Saffron ink, then with the detail stamp, I inked it up using Rose Red ink, tilted the stamp 45 degrees-ish, lined up the edge of the rubber with the edge of the saffron stamped image, and just stamped. Perfect placement!

The rest of this card took a bit of work to design... I created this beautiful 2 step focal panel, but didn't leave a whole lot of room for "other stuff" so it took a bit of finagling to get "just right".    I find I do this alot, I spend a ton of time trying to figure out "what goes where" and it's honestly the most time consuming part of designing a card.  Am I the only person that obsesses about details like this? >.<

In the end, i'm happy with the way this turned out, and the 2-step stamping technique got alot of wows from my stampers (and from me!).

So, that's 3 cards down, 2 to go!
Thanks for taking a peek!
Michey

DETAILS - Products are available for purchase from me  at Stampin' Up

Stamps: Greenhouse Garden, Three Little Words (sentiment)
Paper: Whisper White, So Saffron, Rose Red, Subtles patterned paper pack
Ink: So Saffron, Rose Red
Accessories: Scallop Oval Punch, Oval Punch, Square Lattice Embossing Folder,  5/8" Organza Ribbon

May Class Projects - Part 2/5

This Black, White, and Red Birthday card, you may recall, was born from a fit of inspiration while designing a project for my May classes.  Well, now it's time to share with you the project that started it all:

I'm totally enamored with cards that have an "unconventional" opening like this one.  The inside sentiment helps to embellish the outside card front, which is a fun twist.

After all was said and done with creating this card, I realized there was ALMOST NO STAMPING ON IT! O_o     In the end, the finished project is stylish, kinda vintage, and above all EASY, so even with minimal stamping, I still file this under a successful class project that's easily duplicted and for all levels of stampers and cardmakers.  I love cards like this where the Designer Series Paper does all the work =)

Thanks for looking!
Michey

DETAILS - Products are available for purchase from me  at Stampin' Up

Stamps: Something to Celebrate
Paper: Very Vanilla, Riding Hood Red, Basic Black, Love Letter DSP
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain

May Class Projects - Part 1 of 5

These next few posts will be devoted to highlighting my class projects for the month of May.  My first class was held on Sunday, May 1, and there will be a repeat performance on Sunday, May 15, so if you're in the Washington DC Metro Area and would like to participate, please let me know!

This first card uses a set that's one of many on sale for a whopping 30% off this month in honor of National Scrapbooking Month.

The butterfly and sentiment are both from Simple Friendship and are stamped in Crumb Cake and Baja Breeze using the Rock and Roll technique.  To do this technique, you completely ink up a stamp (in this case, I started out with Crumb Cake) and then before stamping, you take your inked stamp and ink up the edges in a second color - I used baja breeze.

I have to say, during my class on Sunday, more than 1 person was skeptical about whether the Rock and Roll technique would really work based on my description, and I was SOOOO tickled to hear the ooooohs and aaaaahs after they had finished stamping their perfect two-toned butterfly ;-) This is a super easy technique for all levels of stampers, so I encourage you to give it a try!

The rest of this card is pretty straightforward - Elegant Lines embossing folder, an antique brad, and baja breeze seam binding.

I'm so jazzed that this stamp set is 30% off this month. I really feel like it's one of those hidden gems that doesn't get alot of attention nowadays, but this set is so elegant and classy that it deserves its time in the spotlight =)

Thanks for taking a peek!

Michey 

DETAILS - Products are available for purchase from me  at Stampin' Up

Stamps: Simple Friendship
Paper: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Whisper White
Ink: Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Elegant Lines Embossing Folder, Antique Brads, Baja Breeze Seam Binding