Happy Birthday, Jude and Jonas!

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Brian

Janelle and I met in middle school, became good friends in high school and became great friends in college. I moved to Atlanta, and she is settled in Pittsburgh. Four years ago, Janelle and Jason (her amazing husband) welcomed twins – Jude and Jonas. When I call to chat with Janelle, the two boys always chime in to say “hi, BK!” and “I love you, BK!” I love it!

CUTE STORY ALERT: Jason is probably going to disown me for sharing this story because tens of followers will read it. But I can’t resist. When the boys were born four years ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers were finishing the playoffs and were headed to the Superbowl (that’s a football game). A Pittsburgh news station popped into Janelle’s hospital room to interview the couple on the birth of their sons so close to the Superbowl (still not sure why that’s a news story, but…). After a long night of supporting his wife during her delivery, Jason was tired and emotional at the same time. The station crew filmed him saying, “I look forward to having the boys home so I can sit on their laps to watch the Superbowl.” That’s right. HE would sit on THEIR laps to watch football. The station either missed that during editing or caught it and loved it. Either way, it aired – and all their friends, family and coworkers were able to watch Jason in his moment of glory.

As I set out to design birthday cards for Jude and Jonas, I knew I wanted to make colorful cards that a four-year old would love, but I wanted to give each his own card. THEN, the thought crossed my mind to make the cards as mirror images of one another. What better way to honor twins?

Here’s Jude’s card:

And here’s Jonas’:

Just to be gratuitous about the whole thing, here are the cards together. See how they are mirror images of one another?

Tips, Tricks and Reminders:

You’ve already read a lot, so I’m going to be quick about this.

Layout. Each card base is 5″ x 5″ in Island Indigo, followed by a 4-7/8″ x 4-7/8″ piece of Summer Starfruit, followed by a 4-3/4″ x 4-3/4″ piece of Sycamore Street. I then cut another piece of Sycamore Street at 4-3/4″ x 4-3/4″ and then cut it corner to corner. Here’s a quick look a the papers I used:
Painting on the stamps. The sentiment on the face of the card is from Make a Wish, a wonderful set available in the Spring Catalog. I painted the candles with my Stampin’ Write Markers using three of the colors featured in the Designer Series Paper – Tangerine Tango, Summer Starfruit and Rich Razzleberry. I gave them a big “huff” and then stamped those on Whisper White and trimmed around them. I stamped the entire image in Island Indigo and then glued the trimmed, painted candles over top of the ones in the image.
Add shape. After I had the pieces layered together (just the pieces shown above and the complete sentiment. Something was missing. I decided to repeat the circles from the patterned paper by punching some large circles in corresponding colors. The circles add a nice diversity of shape to these cards.

Stamp sets: Make a Wish Inks: Island Indigo, Tangerine Tango Stampin’ Write Marker, Summer Starfruit Stampin’ Write Marker, Rich Razzleberry Stampin’ Write Marker Papers: Island Indigo, Summer Starfruit, Tangerine Tango, Sycamore Street Designer Series Paper, Whisper White Accessories: 2-1/2″ Circle punch, 1-3/8″ Circle punch, Apothecardy Accents Framelits, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Brian

Sale-a-Bration. Sale-a-Bration is in full force. Have you gathered your order together to take advantage of the great deals? If you have questions, please let me know.

One-for-One Valentine’s Day Card Swap. There’s still time to participate in my One-for-One Swap. I received a mailbox full yesterday (yay!), but there’s still room. For more information, click here.

Another Product Share. I’ve heard from so many people who haven’t yet gotten a taste of all the products in the Spring Catalog, so I’m opening up a Spring Catalog Share. Same products, same prices (exception: Sycamore Street DSP has been added to the DSP selections). If you are interested in trying them out (or renewing the stash you already have), please click here.

Wisconsin: Two Ways

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Brian

I’ve got a special treat for you today. And it’s all about Wisconsin. As you know (because you are beautifully dedicated to reading every word I write), I was in Wisconsin this past weekend. A handful of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators (all members of Mary Fish’s Pretty Pals group) met in a cabin in Cambridge, Wisconsin to focus on our business stratgies. The retreat was not about crafting – it was about soul searching and helping us to find balance in our business. It was amazing! That said, I spent more time in the airport than I did in the cabin.

After an entire weekend of intense activities, delicious (and I do mean delicious) foods and great friends, I only walked away with one picture. You’ve asked for it, and I deliver. Here’s a picture of me, preparing to eat some deep fried cheese curds in the Madison, Wisconsin airport:
From the looks of the above picture, someone just punched me in my nose, broke it and then quickly snapped a picture.

While I was in Wisconsin, I also had the pleasure to meet Kris Kilcoyne, who does an amazing job organizing the Pals and keeping us on track. I feel like I have known her by our online friendship, but I didn’t meet her until Friday. Kris, a native of Wisconsin, has a son named Devlin who is turning 9 this week. I was running short on time but wanted to get a quick-and-easy card out to Devlin. Here it is:

Stamp Sets: Perfectly Penned, Create a Cupcake Inks: Island Indigo, Pumpkin Pie, Crumb Cake Paper: Island Indigo, Very Vanilla, Summer Smooches Designer Series Paper Accessories: Apothecary Accents Framelits, Cupcake Builder Punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! Let’s have three cheers for Wisconsin!

Brian

Lovely as a Tree at Thanksgiving

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Brian

No stamp set has as much staying power as Lovely as a Tree. For eleven years, we’ve seen amazing pieces of art that showcase the forest of trees, the solid oak tree and the tall, proud fir. I can’t think of any that showcased the pair of oak leaves from that set (at least I haven’t identified any projects as the oak leaves from that stamp set). To pay tribute to this overlooked stamp and to use my Core’dinations card stock, I snipped a lawnfull of leaves, created a beautiful tree trunk and made this card:

Tips, Tricks and Reminders

Core’dinations Card Stock

With the Holiday Catalog this year, Stampin’ Up! introduced Core’dinations Card stock, a crafty, multi-layered card stock with a lighter color of card stock underneath the exterior. Here’s how I created the tree trunk:

I ran the Core’dinations card stock through the Big Shot with the Woodgrain textured embossing folder and started to lightly run the sanding block over the texturized surface:
Here’s a fuzzy view of the finished product. Because the card stock is Early Espresso, it doesn’t photograph well – it comes across as too dark - so I’ve had to alter the quality of the photo. Me sorry.

My Bucket of Lost Dreams

On a shelf in my craft room, I keep a little plastic bin that I affectionately refer to as my Bucket of Lost Dreams. If I change course on a card halfway through a card, I drop the snips into this bin. When I am lost for inspiration or lacking time, I pull this bin down from the shelf and flip through it.

A couple of weeks ago, I participated in a Pals Paper Arts color challenge. I snipped a mess of leaves but decided the card didn’t need them. Good news for today’s project!

Stamp sets: Lovely as a Tree, Teeny Tiny Wishes Inks: Early Espresso Paper: Crumb Cake, Core’dinations Card Stock (Early Espresso), Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Very Vanilla, Designer Series Paper Stack Accessories: Sanding Block, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by my blog today. I’ve had a great time.

Brian

Christmas Card Shortcut: Printed Tags

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Brian

It’s wonderful to spend a good chunk of time on a card – to really design it perfectly, to pick the right colors, to march up and down the street yelling, “Look what I made! Look what I made!” Let’s be honest, though – we don’t always have that kind of time or energy. That’s why it’s nice to have a quick and easy shortcut card.

In this year’s Holiday Catalog, Stampin’ Up! introduced the Snow Festival Designer Printed Tags – 25 beautiful gift tags on one side, and and 25 beautiful printed accents on the other. Lay that bad boy on a piece of card stock, and you are 78.3% done with your card. Here’s a card I made with these tags:

Tips, Tricks and Reminders:

Treat those pesky edges. I know you are excited for the Stampin’ Trimmer to be delivered in November, but have you just stopped replacing your old cutting blades? Are you getting those little, rough edges when you trim your card stock? Well, here’s a little trick to help you out. The professionals (like you, Patti!) already know this trick, but I don’t want to assume EVERYONE does. Here’s what you do: lick your finger and then run it along the edge of the card stock. This will help to tame the little strays. DO NOT do this if your mouth is full of chocolate while you are cardmaking. You will just make a mess.
Add the tag. Here’s the entire tag from the Printed Tags. I glued it down, allowing it to hang over the edges of my Whisper White card stock. I then turned the card stock over and trimmed the sides so that the tag edges would be flush with the sides of the Whisper White card stock. Easy peasy. I’m so glad I could help you out!

Stamp sets: Petite Pairs Papers: Gumball Green, Primrose Petals, Whisper White, Snow Festival Designer Printed Tags Inks: Gumball Green Accessories: Apothecary Accents Framelits, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! I enjoyed hanging out with you.

Brian

Stampin’ Up! Product Shares. Did you miss my post about my upcoming product shares? Sign up to get a share of embellishments, papers and ribbons – and to share the cost, as well. Check it out here.

For the Newlyweds

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Brian

My boss asked me to make a wedding card for one of her neighbors. From the onset Laura let me know that her neighbor is not your run-of-the-mill bride in a fluffy white dress, so the card should be designed as such. This card was to be made for an edgy and trendy, but earthy, woman. While the bride is very girly, the card was not to be a white and silver card.

Immediately, I knew I wanted to work with Everything Eleanor (mostly because it had just arrived in the mail). I also knew I wanted tans and browns with a peekaboo of light pink. I think the end result is elegant and respectful of their wedding day but still unexpected and filled with lots of cool:

Is it wrong that I bought Everything Eleanor just because of that shape (stamped in pink above)? I will use the other images, but this is the one I really, really wanted.

Tips, Tricks and Reminders:

DSP Envelope Flap

A little DSP goes a long way. To accompany the pattern on the face of the card (from the Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Stack), I added another piece of the same paper to the flap of the envelope. Here’s how I did it:

Run adhesive around the outside edges of an envelope flap. I used a Crumb Cake envelope.
Position a piece of DSP over the flap. I line up the flat edge of the paper along the fold in the flap and the one of the corners of the DSP along the side.
Flip the envelope over. See how the bottom, left corner of the paper lines up with the side of the envelope flap? I told you that’s how I do it. You were paying attention, right? Good. Moving on…
Trim around the edges of the envelope flap, using the flap as your guide.
Look at the beautiful flap you made!

A beautiful pair:

Stamp sets: Everything Eleanor, Teeny Tiny Wishes Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Stack Ink: Early Espresso, Primrose Petals Accessories: Apothecary Accents Framelits, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Crumb Cake envelope

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Brian

Happy Birthday, Little Bubba!

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Brian

I grew up as the middle child – smack dab in the middle of Matthew (3 years younger than I) and John (3 years older than I). Matthew met Anna in graduate school, they were married shortly after and they now have three beautiful children. It was probably when Marshall (their first son) was born that I realized I was really old – if my Little Bubba was old enough to be married and have kids, then what happened to MY youth? See how I made this all about me? It’s a gift, really.

I’m really proud of Matthew. He and his wife are both architects and seem to balance work and home really well. Matthew also serves on his town’s County Council, which I think is wonderful. He is very active in his church and community. The fact that all five of them are happy just points to the fact that they are very successful.

Today is Matthew’s birthday, so I made him this card and sent it to him:

Tips, Tricks and Reminders:

OK, you caught me! I shared this tip on Monday, but I think it bears repeating. The Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Stack provides patterns that can be used throughout the year. This stack offers 48 pages of 4-1/2″ x 6-1/2″ double-sided paper. If you flip though the stack, you’ll see all sorts of beautiful Christmas prints – bold Cherry Cobbler and Lucky Limeade prints with some Very Vanilla and Crumb Cake thrown in for good measure. If you turn the stack over and flip through the opposite sides, you’ll be greeted by bold, not-Christmas patterns in Early Espresso and Island Indigo. This feature makes this paper stack extremely versatile and allows you to use it all up (if you don’t get through it during the holidays). I couldn’t resist this bold stripe for Matthew’s card.
Be well-rounded. I really like the look of rounded corners to soften a hard look. The stripes in this pattern were really bold (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing). When used to cover most of the card front, I decided to round the corners with my 3/16″ Corner punch. I think it really adds a special touch without a lot of work.

Stamp sets: Perfectly Penned Inks: Early Espresso Papers: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Stack Accessories: Stampin’ Dimensionals, Apothecary Accents Framelits

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! I enjoyed hanging out with you.

Brian

Do you want to make your own Triple Time Stamping cards for the holidays? It’s not too late to let me do all the work for you. Buy your kit from me here!

A Cup of Tea with Mary Fish

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Brian

Although summer is still in full force, I have been crazy about hot tea lately. I recently completed and shared a watercolor project that centers around tea cups. I made a pouch card to store a tea bag and a honey stick. I even hosted a workshop centered around all things tea. For today’s project, I didn’t stray from this most current theme.

For my second stint as Mary Fish‘s guest stamper (I am so honored to offer another project that will be featured by the Queen of Stampin’ Up!), I wanted to make a card that is memorable for its simplicity, but I also wanted to make sure it had a real “wow” component. Here’s my finished project:

One Saturday morning, I prepared a hot cup of tea and went to my stamping room to figure out what project I would complete next. I looked at my stamping supplies. I looked at my fresh, hot tea. I looked at my stamping supplies. I looked at the discarded teabag. I looked at my stamping supplies. I looked at…well, you get the picture. Once the tea bag from my tea had cooled (but was still moist), I tapped it all over a piece of Very Vanilla card stock (the primary background of this card). The resulting tea stain looked horrible! What a bad idea! The paper warped into a curled-up mess, and the tea stain was ugly. Once it dried, though, the remaining stain had a gorgeous marbled effect. The paper straightened out a bit and was again easy to work with. I trimmed it, smoothed the corners and slapped it on some card stock with some Sticky Strip. Here’s a closeup of the background paper:

Tips, Tricks and Reminders:

There are no limits to those punches and framlits. The sentiment “Tea for two…” fits nicely in the Apothecary Accents Framelits die. One stamp, one die cut. Done. I outlined the die cut sentiment with an Early Espresso cut of the same framelit and a sideways turned framelit from the same set. I played with a bunch of punched out images before I landed on this combination. Glad I played around.
Don’t be afraid to limit your color choices. I love the warm, rich colors of this card – Soft Suede, Early Espresso and Very Vanilla. That’s pretty much it. No need to always add pops of other colors. For this project, I just let the card speak for itself.
Play with card shapes and sizes. For years, I only made standard-sized cards. Why would you ever make something different? As of late, I have really played with the shapes and sizes because I know I can make the coordinating envelope. Switch things up! Throw yourself a curveball.

Stamp sets: Tea Shoppe Inks: Early Espresso Papers: Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla Accessories: 1/4″ Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Scallop Square Bigz Clear, 3/16″ Corner punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Brian

World Treasures Stair Step Card

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Brian

Today’s project features three things I have recently found to be extremely fascinating: the World Treasures stamp set, the stair step card layout and Katy McGloin.

I was overwhelmed by the stamping possibilities when I first laid eyes on the World Treasures stamp set. The possibilities have played out on my blog over the past several months as I used the Peacock and the flowers in various ways. Today, though, they are both together in a beautiful card I cased from Katy McGloin. I was lucky enough to sit with her card for quite some time – during which I studied it and became good friends with its every corner, angle and surface.

As Katy was getting her swaps cards ready for the 2012 Convention in Salt Lake City, she brought over her designed cards so that my mom and I could help with some of the cutting out and assembling. I only changed the background from light to dark and added some colors to the flowers. Other than that, it’s all Katy:

Tips, Tricks and Reminders:

Make that peacock proud! The peacock from this set is simply gorgeous when stamped and then left alone. I added some rhinestone jewels to its feathers (completely cased from Katy) and then picked up some of the other colors from the card into its feathers with a blender pen. After all this decoration, I could see that the bird stood up taller than before.
Present your card with pride. When you produce a card this gorgeous, it doesn’t feel right to stuff it into an opaque envelope where it’s hidden away from the world until it gets opened. That’s why I gifted (yes, this is one of the few cards I only have in digital storage) this one in a clear envelope. Here it is, all folded up and ready for delivery:

Stamp sets: World Treasures, Papillon Potpourri Papers: Midnight Muse, Whisper White, Primrose Petals, Patio Party Designer Series Paper Inks: Midnight Muse, Gumball Green, Primrose Petals Stampin’ Write Marker, Summer Starfruit Stampin’ Write Marker, Raspberry Ripple Stampin’ Write Marker Accessories: Apothecary Accents Framelits, Elegant Butterfly Punch, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Blender Pen

I asked Katy to send me the dimensions she used to cut and score her card. Here is the layout:

Start by cutting the two inside cuts (one inch from the edge). Then do all the scoring. I started to type out the instructions, but I thought her notes say it all.

Thanks, Katy! You rock!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Brian

PPA138 (Part II) – This Too Shall Pass

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Brian

I didn’t set out to create a second entry to the Pals Paper Arts Color Challenge this week, but here it is!

Katy McGloin and Pam Morris come over yesterday so that Mom and I could help with their convention swaps. Katy left some of her stamp sets here overnight (I have a lot of stamps, but I don’t have these YET), so I played with them this morning. I guess I was playing around with some of my scrap paper from yesterday’s Sweet Baby card, and I ended up with another card that uses only Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso and Cherry Cobbler. Here’s my card:

I love the From my Heart stamp set, and I’ve been on the fence about getting it. I guess I’m sold now – it does half the work on this card. I stamped this image on Very Vanilla cardstock and ran it through my Big Shot with the Labels Collection Framelits. I selected the next largest framelit, and ran it through the Big Shot with a piece of Cherry Cobbler cardstock. I ran almost all of my Apothecary Accents dies through the Big Shot with all of the card stock colors and started playing around with the shapes to arrive at this layout. The yellow piece is actually shorter than this – I cut it in half and then lined it up on the outside of the other cutouts. I used Stampin’ Dimensionals to give it a pop.

Finally, I stamped the butterfly in Early Espresso on Daffodil Delight cardstock, punched it out with the Elegant Butterfly punch and added it to the card with a Glue Dot. The butterfly coordinate well with the sentiment, and the colors work together extremely well here.

Stamp sets: From My Heart, Papillon Potpourri Paper: Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla Ink: Early Espresso Accessories: Elegant Butterfly punch, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Lables Collection Framelits, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Glue Dots

Check out the other designs at PALS Paper Arts.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Brian

Do you want to earn a free stamp set of your choice from me? Join my team in July, and that’s what you’ll get. To learn more, click here.

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PPA137 – Celebrate America

Posted on June 9, 2012 by Brian

My mind started racing when I first saw that the Pals Paper Arts challenge was red, white and blue:

What patriotic stamp sets do I have? Do I HAVE to stick with an American theme? Could I pull off a red, white and blue card that ISN’T patriotic? I knew I would have to sleep on it. I hadn’t seen any of the samples, but my mind was racing! In the middle of the night, it hit me! Eureka!

I have written this over and over, but I will say it again – I love a challenge. My most recent personal challenge is to make good use of a stamp set I (at first) saw no use for. When Betsy’s Blossoms premiered, I wanted nothing to do with it. I have forced myself to use the set, and now I am in love with it. Some of my favorite designs use this set.

Back to the challenge: in the middle of the night, I sat up in bed thinking, “Betsy’s Blossoms could make some gorgeous fireworks!”. As Pam said, “You need to sleep more often!”. Thanks…I think!

Check out all the other red, white and blue creations at PPA

Stamp sets: Betsy’s Blossoms, Perfectly Penned
Papers: Real Red, Whisper White, Regals Collection Designer Series Paper Stack
Inks: Real Red, Night of Navy
Accessories: Apothecary Accents Framelits, Stampin’ Dimensionals

stampwithbrian.com

Paper crafts – creating, collecting, organizing, inspiring

Tag Archives: Apothecary Accents Framelits

Happy Birthday, Jude and Jonas!

Wisconsin: Two Ways

Lovely as a Tree at Thanksgiving

Christmas Card Shortcut: Printed Tags

For the Newlyweds

Happy Birthday, Little Bubba!

A Cup of Tea with Mary Fish

World Treasures Stair Step Card

PPA138 (Part II) – This Too Shall Pass

PPA137 – Celebrate America

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