Definitely Decorative from convention

Here are some more pictures from convention.  This time the pictures feature the Definitely Decorative line of items you can purchase on my website:

http://valeriedurham.stampinup.net/

Here are some beautifully stenciled walls and a great idea for holding photos! 

I loved this notebook and a darling idea for dressing up a lamp with lots of ribbon - how easy is that?

Finally, a froofy little thing at the top made of paper and ribbons - it was just too cute and simple to make!  Very shabby chic!

Interactive mini journal and Nursery Baby Suite

Here is a little mini journal that I made in the car on the way to and from Utah.  Yes, I scrapbook in the car...but only when I'm stuck for 5-6 hours at a time or more!  It really passes the time nicely!!!  And it is much easier to sit and sand paper for an hour or more when you know you can't go anywhere else!  (Just don't wear a black shirt when you do this - ask me how I know!!!  Hee hee!)

Anyway, this journal front was inspired by the interactive cards class that I took online from Andrea Walford and Sophia Landry.  I just took their version and changed it up a bit and after 3-4 tries, I came up with an interesting journal cover!  I used the briefcase chipboard album, Sentimental Journey stamp set and In a Word stamp set to make it. 

Here are a few more pics from convention....these focus on the Sweet Baby Nursery Suite.  Here is a darling little diaper cake - a perfect little gift to give a new mommy!

Here are a few little cards as well as a gorgeous scrapbook page using the diecut paper.

And, of course, we can't leave all those little boys out!  Here is a sweet baby boy snoozing away on beautiful paper! 

Stay tuned for more pictures from convention.  I'm working on a digital album of my trip to Utah and all the National Parks right now.  I'll see if I can convert it to something that allows me to share the album on my blog when I'm finished.  If you do My Digital Studio and you have any tips, you can leave a comment if you know how to share an entire album!

Quick post from convention

Here is my other swap card - I made 25 of each card and swapped them all today.  This had a more masculine look with the Night of Navy/Bashful Blue/Pumpkin Pie color combo.  I stamped the compass from Sentimental Journey on Kraft paper and put a rhinestone or pearl in the center.  I stamped various layers of circles and the scallop circle punch for that.  I used a small strip of Travel Journal DSP on the left side.  Next I stamped remember from the In a Word stamp set with Night of Navy onto Bashful Blue cardstock and ran it through the Big Shot with the scallop rectangle clearlit.  You can see your image as you run it through the Big Shot; it makes it really easy to center the stamped image on the rectangle!  Finally, I stamped the remember word and the Eiffel Tower image from Artistic Etchings in Whisper White onto Night of Navy cardstock and heat embossed both images using Irridescent Ice Embossing Powder.  I was quite pleased with the result!

I can't resist throwing in a few other pics before I finish.  I don't have much time to post or be on the computer at all for that matter....but here is a pic of my family with Shelli and Sterling Gardner - we had a Flower Power party Wednesday night to kick off the Stampin' Up convention!  It was loads of fun!  As usual, Shelli was darling and sweet and sincere - it is so awesome to be able to say hello to the founding owner of the company you work for!

Finally, just a few pics of the darling birthday ideas I saw!  Cute ways to doll up the kits you can get in the catalogue - you can keep it simple or you can go all out!

Sweet and sour DSP card

Here's a quick card I made in the hotel the other day.  I used the Sweet and Sour DSP to make this with Pumpkin Pie and Whisper White as well.

I punched a cute little owl and masked some balloons for him to hold on to.  Then I made a slide and masked a sign and more ballons for a cute little birthday.  Just a little more inspiration from Andrea Walford and Sophia Landry.

Now I'm off to the Stampin' Up convention....talk about inspiration!!!  Maybe I can post some pics later!

New color update on My Digital Studio!

Here's another quickie card I made on MDS while waiting on the daughter to go to sleep.  (Do your kids not go to sleep as well in the summer or is it just us?!?!?)

Anyway, if you haven't been on your MDS in a while, you need to get a free update of all the new colors!  I used Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride and Early Espresso for this card.

Here's the inside of the card - I used the Best Wishes and More stamp set/brush to make this card and added a little journaling block from the Write Stuff digi kit to make a spot for writing a personal note.  It was really that easy!  You should give it a try!

Color coach to the rescue!

Here is a fabulous card that I made using the color coach to decide the color combo.  I admit it is not a color combo I would have created - Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive and Tangerine Tango.  I actually stamped the medallion image 3 times - 1 in each color.   Next, I cut out each part and glued it together.   I added some faux stitching around the edge with my Tangerine Tango marker and finished it off with an adhesive pearl and satin ribbon - elegant for any occasion!

Saving the Earth....one papercraft at a time!

One of my goals lately has been to make sure that I am using the scraps leftover from clubs or other projects that have things leftover.  I have decided that since everything is already cut and ready for a previously designed project, I might as well use it!

So you may remember a similar project just the other day to the card above.  I just made this card horizontal and used the Elements of Style and Birthday Greetings stamp sets to make this project.  You'll also notice a little bit of brown glitter in the center of flowers.

For this project I used the backs of the 2010 calendar that we made at the beginning of the year.  I stamped a woodgrain stamp on the background piece and just made a small square for my image.  The image is super easy - just a little sponging in Soft Sky, Old Olive and Soft Suede and a quick tree and sentiment from the Trendy Trees stamp set and now the calendar page did not go in the trash when I was done! 
Just saving the Earth....one papercraft at a time!  Hee hee!

Gel cards

As you may already know, I am a huge fan of Sophia Landry and Andrea Walford and learn so much from them.  They recently revived the window card with the gel in the window.  So here were a few cards that I made with this idea.  I made a little birthday card with my whale and crab stamps and then I decided to make a Christmas card with Serene Snowflakes. Maybe next time I'll make it a snowglobe!

Scrapbook inspiration!

I got the inspiration for this page from two different places.  I used a sketch to make the left hand layout (by itself above) from Sketches for You and then flipped it and extended it for the right side of the layout.  The brown fabric flowers and background effect ideas I got after taking an online class from Andrea Walford and Sophia Landry.  

Almost all of the supplies are SU.  I used the Medallion, BaroqueMotifs and Rough Type stamp sets.  I also sponged several Bashful Blue flowers with Brilliant Blue as well as diecutting plenty of brown material for the brown flowers. 

Here's a close-up of the flowers - the blue flowers came from the diecut flowers that were in last year's catalogue.  The brown flowers are made out of some fabric I had.

Tres Chic purses and a little project from my daughter!

Here are the little purses we made today at our club meeting.  The color combo was not one I would come up with myself.   It is Peach Parfait, Baja Breeze, and Riding Hood Red.  Interestingly enough, I found this color combo on the new Color Coach that I absolutely adore!  It is the best color tool ever! 

So, anyway, these little purses are inspired by Becky Roberts' tutorials.   She has the Inking Idaho blog on the right side of the page.  

For the top purse, I used the Artistic Etchings stamp set and the Baja Breeze striped grosgrain ribbon for the handles.

For this purse, I used the Very Vintage jumbo wheel to create this purse.  I added a few touches of glitter and another stamp from the Artistic Etchings set.  I took Liz Goldhawk's great idea of adding a filigree brad to the center and made a little medallion of sorts for the front of the purse.  Cute, huh?  These are just the perfect size to put a gift card or a set of little 3X3 cards inside.

And last, but not least....here is my daughter's project for the day.  She didn't want to miss out on all the fun we have at club, so when everyone was gone she made a little lion.   She was reading some Disney storybook the other day and came up with this idea, so I let her have a go at it.  I helped put it together, but she cut the slits, stamped, drew a face, and glued the paper together for the face. 

Here she is petting her little lion....hope it doesn't bite!!!  Hee hee!!

Flower for All Seasons, a Card for all reasons!

Hee, hee!  I made a rhyme with my title today!  Maybe I'm just delirious from not enough sleep lately - too many nights with little sleep from chaperoning the youth group to King's Island this week. 

I did manage to make a few cards with my Flower for All Seasons stamp set and the Greenhouse Gala DSP.  Nothing to special, we'll be making one of these cards tomorrow at club along with a few other little goodies!

Because I care

Here is a card we made at my open house Monday.   This card was inspired by another card I found in Papercrafts magazine. I colored my stamp with Pear Pizzazz and Baja Breeze markers.  The rest of it was pretty simple, I just added a little light blue glitter on all the centers of the flowers. 

Paper:  Whisper White, Greenhouse Gala

Ink:  Pear Pizzazz, Baja Breeze

Stamps:  Because I Care

Accessories:  Light blue glitter

Artistic Etchings

I just love all of the vintage items and stamp sets in the new catalogue!  Not that I am the best vintage cardmaker or scrapbook page person....yet.....I just aspire to be!  So, today I worked on my aspirations of being a vintage person by making this gift card/envelope with the Artistic Etchings set. 

I loved making this because A) It was quick and easy B) It turned out as a simple, but gorgeous looking enclosure for a wedding gift!

For the envelope, I cut out a Very Vanilla Scallop Envelope using my Bigz diecut.  I stamped my images from light to dark - Pink Pirouette, Cherry Cobbler, and Basic Black.  I finished off the front with a sentiment from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set.

For the gift enclosure, I used a few of the same images and the same color scheme.  My sentiment came from the level 3 hostess set, Occasional Quotes.  At the bottom, I used a tiny piece of the Newsprint DSP with a torn edge at the top as well as a small strip of textured Pink Pirouette cardstock.  And that's it!  Less than 30 minutes from start to finish!  Gotta' love that!

Possible convention swap card?

After reading the July/August Papercrafts magazine, I decided to make my own version of one of their cards.  I really liked the Floral Generosity Card on page 33 - they highlighted the juicy color combo of watermelon, blue rasberry, and pineapple. In Stampin' Up colors, I translated that to Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo and Pacific Point. 

Obviously some of the glitter fell off of my flowers and onto the scanner, because it is not this messy in real life! To make this card, I used some scrap paper to create straight line masks.  I used the Manhattan Flowers stamp set to stamp all the flowers.  I cut a 1/2 inch strip of Daffodil Delight and inked it in Pacific Point for the side strip.  Finally, I finished it with a sentiment from the new hostess set Here for You and a few punched flowers with glitter (that is now on the scanner!!!) 

If you were going to the Stampin' Up convention would you want to swap this card?  What do you think?  Shall I make more?

MDS Winter scrapbook page

We're on vacation in Fort Lauderdale with a few friends this week, so rather than dragging all my scrapbook and stamp stuff with me, I decided to drag the new laptop and external hard drive with me!  Nap time and late night (or early morning when a certain little one wakes at 6:00 a.m.!) works great for making scrapbook pages with MDS.  Needlesss to say, I made these pages based on some sketches at http://sketchesforyou.ning.com/ a great site for getting inspiration! 

This page uses some more non-traditional winter colors, but I liked the end result.  I used Barely Banana, Almost Amethyst script DSP, and Elegant Eggplant for my color  scheme.  I added a few swirls from the Baroque Motifs stamp set and different snowflakes to finish off a page about our first snow day of the season.

Here you can see I used some pics from Christmas day.  One thing you will notice about both pages is how similar they are.  One thing I love about  MDS is how you can just duplicate a page or a mirrored page of your first page.  This makes 2-page layouts or even a cohesive album really quick and easy to make!  While I don't do this for every page, you'll notice and kept the flow of the ribbon and paper going across both pages above and mirrored these two Christmas pages.

On these pages I used a combo of papers from the Christmas Cocoa download as well as some elements from the Write Stuff DSP.  The reindeer is from the Winter Post stamp set.

I started a Christmas in July challenge on the Sketches for You site, go ahead and try a digi page using MDS!  If you don't have it, it is a terrific tool for scrapbooks, cards, calendars and more! Shop for it now on my website http://valeriedurham.stampinup.net/