It’s been raining a lot here in Atlanta, so I wanted to make a bright and cheery card to remind me that Spring is here.  April is really holding its end of the bargain in the old “April showers bring May flowers” quip – so I’m expecting big things from you, May! 

I am trying something new on my blog today.  Lately, I’ve had a lot of fun with layering paper and images.  After I designed this Spring card and realized there are 14 layers of card stock, I thought, “Why show it all at once?  Why not build the card, layer by layer, with?”  I don’t want your head to explode, so I’m sharing it stage by stage.  I believe it’s important to establish expectations up-front, so please know that you won’t see the final card today.  Come back tomorrow for the conclusion of today’s Build-a-Card.

STEP ONE:  I cut a piece of Lucky Limeade to 5-1/2″x11″ and scored it at 5-1/2″.  I trimmed a piece of Whisper White at 5-3/8″x5-3/8″ and glued it to the front of the card:   

STEP TWO:  I trimmed a piece of Melon Mambo card stock at 5-1/4″x5-1/4″ and glued it to the Whisper White piece:

STEP THREE:  The next layer was SUPPOSED to turn into something absolutely amazing, but I realized afterwards that I could have made it easier on myself by simply adding a layer of the striped Designer Series Paper and a white square.  This layer, though, is composed of a 5″x5″ piece of Whisper White card stock and four triangles created by cutting two 2-1/2″x2-1/2″ squares with my Stampin’ Trimmer:

STEP FOUR:  The white space that was so painstakingly created in the center of the card left me wanting more, so I added a 3-1/4″x3-1/4″ square of Marina Mist card stock.  That leaves a nice border of white around the central square. 

STEP FIVE:  After getting all those layers created, I felt like I needed to straighten the card front.  I tried to play around with a diamond-shaped card front, but it wasn’t working for me.  THIS gave me the chance, though, to add more layers.  More layers, more layers, more layers.  I won’t stop until the postage for this puppy $3.95.

STEP SIX:  A piece of 3-1/8″x3-1/8″ Whisper White card stock finishes off the front panel of this card.  Or is it really finished?  That’s eight layers of card stock.  I promised you 14, so we aren’t done yet.

What do you think it going on the front of this card?  I’ll give you a hint:  there are six layers of card stock left.  The resulting image is simple and clean and uses some punches in a unique (I think) way.  Come back tomorrow to follow the remaining steps.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Brian

YOU WAITED AND WAITED.  Today is the last day to order any (or all) of the items in the Sent With Love suite.  This paper is delicious, and the coordinating stamps are fantastic.  After they are gone, they are gone.  Order now by clicking HERE!

The last three days have been very long – but have passed by quickly at the same time. The same day that we all were able to see the “retired list” for the first time, we demonstrators were able to download a copy of the 2013-2014 Idea Book and Catalog. At 3:30am on Wednesday, Bandit sat with me on the couch in the den as I flipped slowly through the book, careful to soak in every detail. The otherwise quiet room was filled with “oooohs” and “aaaahs” and a couple of “meooows”. Later in the day, Bandit was forced to live through the catty all over again as I talked through it page-by-page with Pam, then Ann and then Jamie (all demonstrators who also have the priviledge to see the new book in advance of its May release). After I put him through all that, he helped me to sort each of the new items into my “want list” and my “need list” – that cat was focused on getting those lists completed. I will say this – the “need list” is jam-packed with wonderful things – I can’t wait for you to see it and start ordering.

As I started cleaning things up in my fungeon yesterday (feels like it’s the end of the school year – except that I’m hoping to skip summer and jump right into the next year), it hit me that I am emotionally drawn to several retiring stamp sets. Perhaps the first set I fell in love with last year is Just Believe. I love the images. I love the sentiment. The set is perfect in brights, subtles, regals and neutrals. With a soft tear in the corner of my eye, I sat down to make this card:

Tips, Tricks and Reminders

• 3-D Stamping. On a 2-1/2″ x 4-1/2″ piece of Whisper White card stock, I stamped this serene Just Believe image in Sahara Sand (stamped off once on my grid paper to generate a very light image). I lined up the image with my Stamp-a-majig and stamped it again (just a tad bit to the left of the first image) in Soft Suede. You can’t really see the impact of this double-stamp in the photo above, so here’s a close-up to give you a better idea of how cool it looks:
• Clean Neutrals. When I decided to pair Sahara Sand and Soft Suede at the onset of this card, I naturally reached for Very Vanilla as the base of the card front. Why wouldn’t I host a festival of brown hues? I wanted to do something different, so I reached for Whisper White instead. What a crisp, clean look the browns have when paired with Whisper White! Clean – like a starched white shirt and a pair of khackis. I went through the same process when trying to select the ribbon for the card front. I tried several options of seam binding ribbon, including natural trim, before realizing that the 5/8″ Whisper White Organza Ribbon would really pop here.
• Simple Sentiment. I tried several options for the “Memories” sentiment. I stamped it and trimmed it in a banner. I considered a banner over the image or a tag coming out from under the image. I tried to stamp it and punch it. In the end, a stamped image in the bottom, right corner is just what the card needs. It allows the image to command the central focus on this card front.

Stamp sets: Just Believe, Loving Thoughts Papers: Soft Suede, Sahara Sand, Whisper White Inks: Soft Suede, Sahara Sand Accessories: 5/8″ Whisper White Organza Ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Stamp-a-majig

If you don’t have this stamp set, please do yourself a favor and order it now. Here are some other cards I’ve made with Just Believe (you can click on the photo to take you back to the original post):

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Brian

Today is a very special day – it’s Ann Schach’s birthday!

While at a leadership weekend in November last year, Ann and I quickly become close friends. While Ann loves to share about her beautiful show dogs (she has three boxers that rule the roost – and occasionally write her blog posts for her), it’s her dry sense of humor and wit that I love so much. Ann is a retired science teacher, so (like me) she has a very analytical mind. Together, we can talk for hours about cooridinating stamp images or colors that look good together.

To celebrate Ann’s birthday, I want to take you on a little tour of some of Ann’s amazing projects. Ann typically produces gorgeous images that are beautifully distressed and aged. I only had to go back a couple of months to find these gems (and there are many more where these came from). I don’t typically send my blog readers to other people’s blogs, but this is a warranted exception. Please click on any of these images to see her orginal blog posts with tips and tricks to create cards like these.

I think you’ll agree that these are all beautiful cards, no? Please leave a comment below to let her know how much you love them (what a wonderful birthday present that is for a card maker!). And check out her blog at www.stampinchic.com to leave her a birthday message on her most recent blog post. She will be shocked – I promise!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Brian

Wow!  Yesterday was quite a day.  What a doozy!  I will be recuperating from it for the next week.  Stampin’ Up! introduced to the list of retired items from the 2012-2013 Idea Book and Catalog and we demonstrators were given a peek at the 2013-2014 Idea Book and Catalog.  I can’t tell you anything about it, but I will share this:  you will love the catalog – it’s a beauty!  AND if you want to receive a catalog of your very own, keep reading… 

I’m going to share a quick-and-easy, but simple-and-elegant card, with you, and then we need to talk about what it takes for you to join my team.  Two bonuses - (1) you can get your hands on some sneak peek items from the 2013-2014 catalog and have $30 of free product IN ADDITION TO the $25 of free product you already get (more on the sneak peek items later) and (2) you get 30% off your first hostess order (orders greater than $150) just in time for the new catalog release.  Woo hoo!  Let’s start with the card: 

Angie came over last weekend to work on graduation cards for her daughter.  At the end of our meeting, Angie asked if I would help her make a quick wedding card for her niece.  She wanted young and modern, and that’s what I think we made here.

• This piece of Designer Series Paper from Comfort Cafe really sets the tone for this wedding well-wish.  I love this paper (you’ve seen several cards with it already, but I can’t stop using it).
• The offset circles really add that retro-vibe to this card.  I tried centering the Very Vanilla piece, but offsetting them really balanced this card and allowed the sentiment to remain off-center.
• I embossed the Mr. & Mrs. sentiment on Midnight Muse with Pool Party embossing powder.  How crisp and clean!  The sentiment fit perfectly inside the framelit from Apothecary Accents.  What a great find!

Stamp sets:  Mr. & Mrs.  Papers:  Midnight Muse, Pool Party, Very Vanilla, Comfort Cafe Designer Series Paper  Accessories:  3″ Circle Originals, 2-1/2″ Circle punch, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Pool Party Embossing Powder, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Join My Team

Have you been putting off joining Stampin’ Up!?  Well, now’s the time to reconsider.  Here are the benefits to joining now:

• Extra free stuff.  The Starter Kit is always $99 for $125 of product (your choice of how you spend that $99) – and Stampin’ Up! always foot the bill on shipping it to you.  Through May 30, though, you can get an EXTRA $30 of free product in your Starter Kit – that’s a total of $155 of product for $99.
• Sneak Peek.  If you sign up as a demonstrator before May 30, you ALSO get to include Sneak Peek items from the upcoming catalog in your kit.  Click HERE to see a sneak preview of the items in the new catalog that you can order.
• Additional product discount.  Get 30% off your first hostess order (any order greater than $150) JUST IN TIME for the full release of the new catalog.  Yipee!

If you have been thinking about joining (whether you want to sell Stampin’ Up! products or just want to pick up some products at a great discount), send me a message.  I’m MORE THAN HAPPY to help.  Email me at stampwithbrian@gmail.com.

Get a Catalog

I’ve ordered copies of the new catalogs, and they will be immediately mailed out to my customers.  Do you want to make sure you get one, too?  If you haven’t ordered from me before, now’s your chance!  Place an order HERE, and I’ll add you to the list!  Woo hoo!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Brian

BIG NEWS TODAY!  Not only do I have a retired stamps and retired accessories list for you, but Stampin’ Up! has listed many of these items at discounted prices – 25% off, 40% off and 60% off!  You don’t want to miss a word of this post because I’m going to tell you how to save on the things you already want.  Yay!

Every year, we are introduced to wonderful stamps and amazing accessories when the annual catalog is released.  Yipee doodle dee!  The excitement (from this guy alone) could boil the salt right out of the ocean.  To make room for the new items, though, some products must be retired.  To roll in the new, we must say goodbye to some tried and true favorites.  

Well, here it is, friends:  the retired list of Stampin’ Up! goodies.  These items are available for order until Monday, June 3 (or as long as supplies last).  Don’t waste too much time – you don’t want to be on the “as long as supplies last” side of that equation.  Take a gander at the gems and make a list of the ones you can’t live without.

Before I show you the list, I must tell you a secret.  AND THIS IS CRAZY!  Stampin’ Up! has discounted many of these retiring items at 25%, 40% and 60%!  Check out the lists, and then check out the discounted items.  What a huge sale that

Click on the link below to review the Retired Stamps:

RETIRED STAMPS

Click on the links below to review the Retired Accessories:

RETIRED ACCESSORIES (.pdf)

RETIRED ACCESSORIES (sortable Excel file)

CLICK HERE to purchase any of these items now and to revew the items that are discounted.   

***At the time I posted this entry, the Retired Stamps sortable Excel file was not available.  I will update this post as soon as it is.

I want to explain something else.  As an Independent Stampin’ Up Demonstrator, I don’t typically showcase items on my blog that aren’t available in the current catalogs.  It just makes sense for me to keep current so that if you see something you absolutely love, then I can point you to my site so you can buy it.  As such, I (and I am not alone here) will purge most, but not all, of my retired items once they are no longer available.  If you are a hobby demonstrator or happy customer, there’s no need for you to purge your inventory.  Keep the things you love, gather the things you want and enjoy the things you have.  If you have been eyeing a stamp set or accessory for some time (you know who you are), take this opportunity to get it now.  To make sure you get those items you need, CLICK HERE.

What items are you most surprised to see go?  Are you shocked that some are not?

Please let me know if you have any questions.  I’m always happy to help.

Brian

All good things must come to an end.  Sad but true.  And so I must say that the parade of cards from my Spring One-for-One Card Swap must end, as well.  This is Day 3, and I’ve got another batch of beauties for you.  The other days are filled with beauties, too, so check them out, too! 

Cards from Day One

Cards from Day Two

Maria Rodriguez’ swap card

And here are the cards:

So, what do you think?  Aren’t they all lovely?!  Please let these artists know how much you enjoyed receiving their card (or witnessing their cards here).  I am really excited with the beautiful creations that come to me through these swaps, and I’m always excited to share them with you.  I hope you will participate in my next swap.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Brian