Peace on Earth Card

This card is a New Years card. I created this card around the Stamptivity Angels with Angel star stamp set. I just love their stamps!!! I colored in this beautiful angel using SU markers. I embossed half of the Top Note die cut using a Cuttlebug embossing folder. I tried to pick cardstock colors to match the patterned paper.

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How to Make In Color Markers

As you know, SU does not make markers for their exclusive in colors. . . but with a little work, you can make them yourself!! I plan on making them for all the current In Colors because I love these In Colors so much. I will be sad to see these colors go so I am getting two reinkers for each color :)

Anyway, here is my recipe to make homemade In Color Markers:

Supplies needed:
Reinker
VersaMarker
Tweezers
Scrap paper
Optional supplies for labeling your marker: silver sharpie, invisible tape, matching cardstock, circle punch

Steps:
1. Uncap one end of the VersaMarker and carefully remove the tip of the marker using tweezers. 2. Pour 6-10 drops of reinker into the marker barrel.
3. Carefully place the tip back into the barrel using the tweezers.
4. Repeat with the other side of the marker.
5. Write on scrap paper until the ink becomes the color of the reinker.

*These markers will be different from SU's markers because when the reinker mixes with the VersaMark ink, the marker becomes pigment ink where as SU markers are dye ink. I have embossed using the homemade markers and they emboss just like regular VersaMark ink.

To label the marker, I wrote the color name on the barrel with silver sharpie (which does rub off eventually) I placed a piece of invisible tape over it. Then I used a circle punch (actually a Mickey punch and cut the ears off, because it was the only circle I had that fit!!) and glued them on the ends of each lid.

I only made the Pacific Point one shown because I only had 1 VersaMarker. I plan on getting 5 more very soon though :)

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Date LO

Happy New Year's EVE!!!

This is one of the many Christmas present LO's I made. These photos are from our trip to Colorado to visit my friends from grade school. I miss you guys!!!!!!

For this LO, I used the SU Always stamp set and Pacific Point ink to make the hearts. The bow was made with SU Baja Breeze ribbon. The title is made from felt Thickers. For the journaling, I used my new homemade in color Pacific Point marker!!!! I will post a how to shortly so stay tuned! I used the SU Scallop Edge Punch for the edging on the black patterned paper.

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Bottle Rockets

This LO is a very plain LO. This is one of the many LO's I made as Christmas presents for my fiance's grandparents. For this one I just tore the red and blue papers and stapled ribbon around the matted photos. The ribbon is SU Riding Hood Red and Baja Breeze.

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Club Sign Ups Reminder

**Clubs are closed***

I am taking club sign ups through January 15th so be sure to reserve your spot. If the spaces don't fill, I will have to delay the clubs or cancel them. Spaces in most clubs are limited.


Each one of my Stampin' UP Clubs comes with private access to a special club specific blog. Once you join a club, you will be granted access to the club blog where you can learn tips and techniques. It doesn't matter where in the US you live, you can join any club because everything can be shipped directly to your door. Each club membership includes monthly freebies!!

To find out more info on my SU clubs, click on the club below. If you have any questions please send me an email at sstracha@utk.edu

*~Ongoing Clubs~*
Hostess Club -10 months, 10 members, $15 commitment, hostess benefits and freebies. Waiting list available.

Stamp Kit Club -includes 1 stamp set per month, and supplies to make projects with the set. Sign up ongoing until club is full.

Ribbon Share -get 3 yards of each of the 20 colors of SU 1/4 grosgrain ribbon, purchase as needed.

*~Clubs coming in 2009~* SIGN UPS GOING ON NOW!!
Marker Club -purchase the Many Marvelous markers kit + case over a 4 month span
Ink Pad Club -purchase a color family of full size ink pads + reinkers over a 3 month span
DSP Club - comes with sheets of DSP each month with coordinating cardstock colors.
Crayon Club -purchase the watercolor crayons over a 4 month span.
Punch Club -comes with one punch tool a month and receive special project ideas with the punch each month
*NEW* Big Shot Club - purchase your big shot machine and exclusive dies and receive hostess benefits along with project ideas

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Color Caddy Love

I have to say it : I LOVE MY COLOR CADDY!!! For what it's worth, I give the SU Color Caddy two thumbs up!

Man, was I missing out. It is so convenient to just have my inks right at my fingertips all the time. As you can see, I don't own all the ink colors, but I have room for when I buy some more :)

Why I like it:
1. It spins so I can access all sides easily
2. It doesn't spin out of control so things don't go flying
3. It is small, takes up about a 12X12 inch space on the desk
4. The tray on top is perfect for stickles :) notice mine are all upside down and within reach
5. My black Stazon and VersaMark also fit in the slots (those are the only non SU inks I own)

I read a lot of opinions before I purchased the color caddy, because $59 is a lot of money for anything. Boy, the negative remarks were WRONG!!

Some said their caddy wobbled. . . mine doesn't, I think if it is put together securely, then there isn't any room for it to wobble. I don't have the extender kit so I can't speak for that, but my color caddy does not wobble. EDIT: Ok I tried to make it wobble and yes, if you start shaking it around, it WILL wobble. I thought I would share it with you :) You can make it wobble if you try.

Some said it was cheaply made. . . I totally disagree. It is made out of hard plastic and metal. That seems well made to me!

And before I bought the Color Caddy, I looked for alternatives... and they were WAY MORE EXPENSIVE!! Similar designed wooden holders were $100 and more! I saw one close to $200!! Sheesh, that is rediculous!!!!!

This is what I stored my inks in before I got the Caddy. AHHHH it was so annoying to try to get one of the inks out.

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Hearts & Kisses Card

This card was made for the final day of my Love You Much week. The Love You Much bundle is a special sneak peek bundle from new items available from the Spring catalog. To see the bundle details, click here!

The hearts on the bottom of this card were actually punched out of the white cardstock so the Riding Hood red cardstock can show through the holes. I was just using scraps I had left over and saw these cute punches next to eachother. The pink pirouette border above the scallop patterned paper border is also just a scrap. It is about a 1/4inch strip of cardstock. This strip is what is left after using the SU Scallop edge punch on something.

To get the sentiment, I used my SU markers on the scallop circle shaped stamp from the Love You Much stamp set. I just colored over the specific part I wanted.

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Last Chance!!! Just Kidding!

Sorry we are full!! To join the waiting list for the next hostess club round, send me an email with your name, mailing address, phone number, and how many spots you want.

~*~*~*~*~*~

This is your last chance to get in on the hostess club starting in February. I only have 1 spot left now!! It is only a $15 commitment and you get freebies, a monthly online crop, hostess benefits. For all the details click here. Contact me ASAP to hold your spot!!

SP and Company Stamps  |  SP Color Combos  |  Imagination Land

Perfectly Pretty Valentine

This card is for Day #6 of my Love You Much Week. This card is a little different from the others I have been showing, but I used the Hearts Punch, sentiment, and bird stamp from the Love You Much bundle. For bundle details, click here!

For this card, I finally got to use my new SU Marker set!! I was so excited to get to use them! They were my Christmas present from my fiance, but I ordered them back in November!! They have been under our tree so I wasn't able to play with them! I just love my new markers. I know I will be playing with them a lot now!

Anyway, onto the card.. .. this card is 5.5X4.25inches. I used the Perfectly Pretty Stampin Wheel to make the glitter border. This was the most complicated thing I did for the card. What I did was I purchased the VersaMark refill and an uninked wheel cartridge. Then I inked up the cardtridge with the VersaMark. Using my new VersaMark cartridge, I rolled the wheel where I wanted it. Then I used SU's Heat and Stick powder to attach the glitter to the card. It turned out really nicely.

The birds were stamped and then punched out with the Curly Label punch. The hearts punches are Pink Pirouette cardstock and I stamped the sentiment in matching ink.

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A Boy & His Dog

This LO was made as part of a Christmas gift to my fiance's grandparents. I made this using the guidelines from the SBG1 Challenge #3, which can be found here: http://www.stamps-and-stitches.com/2008/12/magazine-inspiration.html

I used the Circles as my inspiration to make the title. For these I used the Scallop Edge Punch from SU and a circle punch. The inside of the circle is Summer Sun cardstock and the outside of the circle is from the SU Green Tea paper pack. All the other patterned paper is misc. from my stash.

Join in on the challenge before Jan 10th to be eligible for the prize!

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Happy Bday Alison!

**I  am on a ProvoCraft/Cricut Boycott! They won't get another dime from me!  Got a Cricut? Well use it! Don't have one yet? Consider a different  machine!! Click here for more details about my boycott and how I got here!! You can join the boycott too!**

My buddy Alison had her birthday recently and this is the present that I made for her. It is a pack of assorted SU Designer Series Paper 6X6inch squares. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Her gift tag was cut using the Cricut Zooballoo cartridge & then stamped with the SU Crazy for Cupcakes stamp set. I watercolored the image in. The bow is SU Pink Pirouette

SP and Company Stamps  |  SP Color Combos  |  Imagination Land

Glitter Hearts Card

This card was made for day#5 of my Love You Much week! The heart stamp, sentiment stamp, and patterned paper are from the new pre-order bundle called Love You Much. To see the bundle details, click here!

This card is another tiny card. The glitter hearts were my first attempt using SU's Heat and Stick powder and WOW does that stuff work! I love it! I love glitter on anything :)

TO USE HEAT AND STICK POWDER:
1. Stamp your image using VersaMark or draw your own image with a VersaMarker.
2. Pour Heat and Stick Powder over the VersaMark & tap off excess just like you would for heat embossing.
3. Heat with heating tool until the powder looks shiny.
4. Quickly pour glitter over the shiny powder & tap off excess.
5. Reheat slightly with heat tool to ensure the glitter sticks to the powder.

The card above is approximately 3.5inches square. I scalloped the bottom edge of the card using the SU Scallop edge punch.

SP and Company Stamps  |  SP Color Combos  |  Imagination Land

Simple Love Birds

This card is for Day#4 of my Love You Much Week. The love you much bundle is available as a pre-order special at 20% off, click here for bundle details. To order, send me an email at sstracha@utk.edu and I would love to help you with your order.

This card is 4.25X5.5inches. The patterned paper and stamps are from the Love You Much Bundle. The scallop edge was made with SU's scallop edge punch. The birds were stamped using VersaMark and heat embossed with white embossing powder. The base of the card is SU Riding Hood Red cardstock. Finally, the hearts were stamped in Chocolate Chip ink.

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Another Christmas Tag

Here is a photo of all the stamps in the Winter Post stamp set:

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Valen-tiny

This card is for day #3 of my Love You Much Week! This card is 4X4inches. The patterned papers, hearts punch and stamps used for this card are part of the Love You Much bundle available now. Click here for more info about this special pre-order bundle. The hearts punch punches out the three small hearts perfectly. The bigger heart was colored in with an aqua painter and then embellished with pink Ice Stickles. This photo is kinda bad, but I had sleeping guests in the house so I couldn't use the scanner :)

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My Friendly Valentine

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!

This is the card for Day#2 of my Love You Much Week. This card measures 5.5X4.25inches. The hearts were punched out of the polkadot patterned paper using the SU Hearts punch. That way the Pink Pirouette cardstock just shows through. Then I wrapped the Riding Hood Red ribbon around the card and put a little bow on it. The sentiment stamp is from the SU Love You Much stamp set.

To see the details on the special pre-order Love You Much bundle, click here.

SP and Company Stamps  |  SP Color Combos  |  Imagination Land

Color Swatches

MERRY CHRISTMAS HOSTESS CLUB!! This is but one of the presents I included with the hostess club members Christmas presents. I made these cute little color swatches for every member. I made one for myself and it is in my purse so I will have it when I go to a craft store. This color swatch includes all 48 Stampin Up cardstocks and the current In Colors. They are all labeled so it is easy to know what each color is. I would also like to give my buddy Alison a BIG thank you for helping me make these! Without her help, I would have been working on these forever!

SP and Company Stamps  |  SP Color Combos  |  Imagination Land

Summer Fun LO

Merry Christmas eve everyone!!

This is another LO from the Christmas albums I am making this year. For this LO I actually just used the back of the Tranquil LO (that I posted yesterday!). When I use my patterned paper, I really USE it! I just flipped the page over and started working on the other side.

For this LO, I used a photo of my fiance and I on our Colorado vacation last year, along with a photo of Mya our pup. The 12X12 background paper is from the SU Green Tea paper pack.

The cardstocks used, are SU Pacific Point, Pink Pirouette, and Baja Breeze. I made the pattern on the Pacific Point cardstock using the cherry blossom branch stamp from the SU Eastern Blooms set and Whisper White Craft ink. Whisper White Craft ink is the best white ink! Look how bright white those images look. It turned out like I had planned it in my head (don't ya love when that happens!). For the lettering, I used Thickers (thank you Marci!!) and sticker alphas.

SP and Company Stamps  |  SP Color Combos  |  Imagination Land

Scallopini Card

Merry Christmas EVE!!!

This card is for Day 1 of my Love You Much Week! I named this card Scallopini because I thought it was very scalloppy LOL.The Riding Hood Red cardstock pieces measures approximately 4.25X5.25 and is scalloped on the bottom (I used a 5.5X4.25 piece of cardstock, but the SU scallop edge takes off about 1/4 of an inch). The stamp I used for this card is from the Love You Much stamp set. I watercolored the stamped image using an aqua painter and the Riding Hood Red ink pad. The tiny flower is embellished with distressed Stickles. The patterned papers are part of the SU Candy Lane pack.

The paper, stamp set, and a hearts punch are all part of a special pre-order bundle pack. To see more info about the bundle, click here!

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Tranquil LO

This is one of the many layouts I made to give as a Christmas present. This LO has photos of my fiance on it. This Layout uses all Stampin' Up! products! I love this Green Tea designer series paper, but I don't have any other papers that will coordinate with it except SU stuff cardstocks. The patterned paper I used for the background is my absolute favorite print! I would frame it if I had another piece. It is so pretty. I am sadly on a no buying paper challenge so I can't buy any more :( (does using hostess benefits count?! LOL). The stamps used on this LO are from the Always stamp set. I also used the Scallop Edge punch for the border of Kiwi Kiss cardstock.

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SU Love You Much Promotion

Click here to download the full size PDF flyer.


Dates: December 23, 2008 - January 31, 2009

Promotion details:

Get ready for Valentine's Day with the exclusive Love You Much Bundle (item 115405). The Love You Much Bundle includes the following: Love You Much stamp set, Heart to heart punch and Candy Lane Designer paper.

During the sale, the bundle will be 20% off making it $41.48.

I already ordered this bundle and in celebration of this awesome bundle, I will be posting projects featuring the bundle all week long!

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New Years resolutions?

Anyone got a good New Year's Resolution you could loan me???? I am trying to decide on one. Maybe scrapbook more (I have been making cards mostly for the past few months and I am WAY behind on the scrapping). Maybe work on a couple of Christmas cards each month. One will definitely be to use the supplies I have and spend less on new supplies. Any suggestions?

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3ring Albums

3ring albums have to be the coolest thing. I guess I am far behind the times, but I thought strap hinge and post bound were the only 12X12album types! So I have been scrapbooking and using post bound albums which are harder than heck to unscrew to add more pages to, and I can never get the posts back together, and then you have to buy post extenders. I got frustrated so much that I just got a box and started leaving my layouts in a stack. The post bound albums are simply the worst thing about scrapbooking.

BUT I have recently heard about 3 ring albums! They work just like a 3 ring binder. You can add pages just by opening the ring!!! I was so excited to hear about them, but then no stores near me had any 3 ring albums so I just gave up and left my LO's in the stack(this was before I became a Stampin' UP Demonstrator). When I became a Stampin UP Demonstrator, I noticed SU has ring albums. I decided to order 3 of them for my album Christmas presents I was making. I am so happy I got them because they are gorgeous and any standard 12X12 post album refills (the kind with the set of 3 circular holes) fit the rings because the albums have standard sized rings. SU says in the catalog that the rings are 1.5inch D rings, but to me they look bigger than that. These books will hold a bunch of LO's. They come with 10 page protectors so that is enough to get started on the book, but there is plenty of room for more pages. The album shown above is the Mellow Moss 12X12 album. It is one of 4 colors that SU offers for albums.

So being a good little girl, I decided to go ahead and put all my finished layouts away into the post bound albums I already had and use them before I bought anything else. This afternoon I squeezed all the finished LO's into the last album and now I am ready to buy 3 ring albums from now on!! I'll tell you, after the first hour or two of trying to undo and redo those posts, I was ready to throw the post albums in the trash, but I managed to make it through. :) NEVER AGAIN!!

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