IN PIECES

I have been enamored of Serendipity Paper for a long time now. Depending on the techniques
you use to create your master sheet of Serendipity Paper, it can take quite awhile. As in maybe an hour and a half or even longer. But, from there, it is pure magic!

This afternoon -- a snowy, blizzardy day -- I took advantage of the time to go into my workshop and create -- SERENDIPITY PAPER!

I know, I know. Not too impressive-looking, right? 

B U T . . . when you cut it into pieces, it becomes a plethora of miniature works of art. 

Each and every one is unique. These tiny masterpieces can be used for several projects. 

The possibilities are many!

However, I decided to show you what they look like on a card. I cut the first 2 1/2 inches 

of my Serendipity Paper into 1 1/4" squares. I chose four of the squares that complemented 

each other, and this is what I came up with for a finished product:

Now, my question is this: Would you like me to write a blog post telling you step-by-step 

how I created this particular piece of Serendipity Paper? I took photos of my progress as 

I created, and I would be happy to share it all with you -- if you're interested. Let me know.

Serendipitous

Smiles

HEARTFELT SYMPHONY

I once again decided to take up the Paper Players on one of their challenges, a sketch set
forth by LeAnne.

Last week I received my most recent Stampin' Up! order in which I had ordered the new Honeycomb Textured Impressions Embossing folder. I could hardly wait to get it in my
hands and play with it.

Loving to use music in my work, I decided to fill some of the cells with hexagons of music.
I then turned it into a Valentine by adding the gorgeous heart from the You Are Loved
stamp set. (sigh -- don't you just love the images in this set?)

One of the newest In Colors, Raspberry Ripple, joined up with black and Naturals White
to result in a pretty classy card.

I added Basic Pearls to the centers of a few of the flowers. Then, to add a bit more dimension and interest, I stamped the bird on Naturals White, cut it out, and popped it up over the bird 

on the heart with a piece of Stampin' Dimensional. 

Here is the sketch my Valentine was based on:

Smiles.

CAGED

There are just so many things I love about the Stampin' Up! set, Nature Walk. The row of eggs and the bird (a robin?) especially appealed to me. All the images are so beautifully rendered.

One of the things I did when mounting the set (I own the wood mount set) is to cut the row of five eggs into individual eggs, and mounted them as individual stamps. While I did like the row of eggs -- so neat and orderly -- I decided that they would be much more versatile (to me) as separate images. As evidenced in this card.

By having them as separate entities, I was able to scatter them willy nilly around the edge 

of the card, creating a much less formal look.

While the foreign-looking words behind the cage is from a retired stamp set, there are other current sets that contain images that would work equally as well -- possibly even better! You 

could try Summer Silhouettes (page 82 of the big catalog), the large label turned on its side 

from Layered Labels (page 103 of the big catalog), The Open Sea (page 104 of the big catalog), Creative Elements (page 126 of the big catalog), Oh Hello (page 4 in the Spring Catalog), or Beyond Plaid (page 14 in the Spring Catalog). 

The technique used to get the effect on the center panel is referred to as masking. It is a ridiculously easy way of having one image appear to be behind the foreground image without covering up any of the main image.

To create a Caged card of your own:

Supplies:

Fresh Cuts stamp set (the sentiment)

Nature Walk stamp set

Rustic Rooster (the foreign words)

Soft Suede card stock

Bashful Blue card stock

Early Espresso card stock

Early Espresso ink

Soft Suede ink

Polka Dot Ribbon in Soft Suede (retired)

Slot Punch or Craft Knife

Word Window Punch

Modern Label Punch

Stampin' Dimensionals

Big Shot

Square Lattice Embossing Folder

Stamping Sponge

Post-It Notes

Instructions:

Fold a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of Soft Suede card stock in half, creasing well with a bone folder.

On a 4 1/4" x 5" piece of Bashful Blue card stock, stamp the eggs randomly all around the edges, making some of the eggs Soft Suede and the others Early Espresso.

After the eggs are stamped around the edges, run this piece through the Big Shot inside the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. Sponge all edges with Soft Suede ink, then pounce the sponge here and there softly on the rest of the background. Set aside.

On a 2 3/8" x 2 3/4" piece of Bashful Blue card stock, stamp the cage in Early Espresso in the center. Stamp the cage once more on a Post-It note, with the top of the cage extending onto where the sticky area is on the other side of the paper. Carefully cut out the image on the Post-It Note, cutting just INSIDE the stamped lines. Place the cut-out image on top of the cage you just stamped on the blue. Ink up the foreign words (or whatever you choose to use for your background) in Soft Suede. Stamp it directly over the Post-It Note. Remove the note. See how 

the writing surrounds the cage? This is called masking.

Adhere the cage piece to a 2 5/8" x 3" piece of Early Espresso card stock. Attach this to the embossed piece with a Stampin' Dimensional in each corner and one in the center.

On a scrap of Bashful Blue, stamp your sentiment in Early Espresso. (NOTE: I used two of the 

oval punches, but one is now retired. I would recommend using the Word Window Punch for this word.) From a scrap of Early Espresso, punch out an oval (or the Modern Label Punch). Adhere these pieces together. Tap the blue with the inky sponge. Cut a slit on both sides of this label. Slide a piece of ribbon through the slits, centering the sentiment. Attach the ends of the ribbon on the back of the background panel with Scotch Tape. 

Adhere finished panel to card front.

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REMEMBER Sale-A-Bration (until March 22)!! For every $50 you spend (before shipping and taxes), you can choose one of the items from the Sale-A-Bration brochure for FREE! There are 18 free things to choose from! Don't forget to name me as your demonstrator so you get the best possible prices!

Smiles.

SAB/BIRDIE BIRTHDAY

Remember what we were singing just a month ago? "It's the most wonderful time of the year"?? Well, it is now "It's the second most wonderful time of the year!" You see, Stampin' Up!'s annual Sale-A-Bration starts TODAY!

During Sale-A-Bration (SAB), it is the absolutely BEST time of the year to order. Why, you ask? Because for every $50 you spend (before shipping and taxes), you can choose one free product from the special Sale-A-Bration brochure!!! And who doesn't LOVE free stuff? Especially Stampin' Up! products!!???

Click here to access the Sale-A-Bration brochure: http://204.228.150.61/catalogs/flash/en-US/2013_SAB_2kt93k/20130122_SAB_en-US.pdf

And, be sure to notice that, in addition to all the exclusive Sale-A-Bration products you can choose from for free, they are also offering six items from their main catalog among their
free offerings, including stamps, card stock, buttons, the Simply Scored Diagonal Plate, and
a paper-piercing pack!

This year, Sale-A-Bration runs from TODAY, January 22, until March 22, 2013. So, now's your chance at "The best things in life are free!" Shop by hitting the Sale-A-Bration button on the
right side of my blog.

Oh, and while you're shopping and racking up all the free stuff, remember my 50/50 chart.

With each $50 you spend through me, your name gets put on this chart in one of the spaces. When the chart is completed, one square will be randomly drawn, and the person whose name appears on that square will win a $50 Stampin' Up! shopping spree from me! Woo hoo!

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I created a special hybrid card for my niece, Marissa's, birthday, which is today. 

I created the main image in My Digital Studio, using the birds and branch from Cheep Talk, 

the word cloud from Celebrate Any Day, and the sentiment from Cake and Ice Cream. I added 

an appropriate Designer Series Paper to the background and printed it on white card stock. 

I then used one of the Window Frames Collection Framelits Dies, added a square of Certainly Celery, embossed a background and tied a ribbon on the side, adhering it all together, resulting in a darling card for a new 15-year-old.

Smiles.

LOVE HEART

Remember my post from one week ago, the one I entitled "Love in the Works"? http://www.paperseedlings.com/2013/01/love-in-works.html

It was what I had accomplished thus far in My digital Studio on a Valentine I was hoping to
turn into a nifty hybrid card.

Well, I stared at it and stared at it. What to do??? Finally, this is what I came up with.

Wanting to retain the nontraditional color scheme for a Valentine, I decided to keep only 

the heart a traditional pink and go with the blue and white scheme on the rest of it. Loving 

to cut paper -- as you already know about me -- I capitalized on the intricacy of the frame. 

I could have gone even crazier with the cutting, but I thought this was just the perfect touch. 

If I had trimmed out more of the frame, it would have become more blue without that luscious pop of white throughout. 

I popped the frame from the embossed background to give it a bit more definition. Glitter 

added to the word "love" provided a little glitz, and a few Basic Rhinestones here and there 

gave it its needed bling.

At that point, I had considered it finished. But, yet, when I stood it up to really check it out, 

I found it still seemed just too flat, not enough pizzazz. It was the heart. Refer back to the original MDS creation. 

S o . . . I printed it out again. I cut out just the heart. I then popped it up over the original 

heart with little "piles" of two Stampin' Dimensionals. There! Now the heart looked more puffy, almost as if it was beating. Corny, huh? But, isn't that what Valentines are supposed to be all about?

Heartfelt

Smiles.

BUTTERFLY LOVE

Here is another hybrid card for you. This is one of the projects we did at my workshop this week.

I do not own the stamp set, Extreme Elements. But I have used it a few times nevertheless. You see, I have it as part of my My Digital Studio stash.

One of the really cool things about the "stamps" in My Digital Studio is that many of them in MDS2 are SVG stamps, meaning they can be resized to whatever best fits your project. Unlike traditional rubber stamps which come in one size only, Stampin' Up!'s digital stamps are so much more versatile in that they can be made larger or smaller depending on what you need.

I printed the splat from the Extreme Elements set on a piece of white card stock. I then cut the shape from the Window Frames Collection Framelits. That serves as the background for the rest of my focal image on my card.

An embossed card front and a little paper piercing added the needed elements to finish off 

the look of the card. A little bling also adds to the romance.

I meant this card to be a Valentine, but it would work equally well for many other occasions 

also. Think wedding, anniversary, anytime the theme of love is appropriate in sending your 

sentiments.

Make your own!

Supplies:

Papillon Potpourri stamp set

You Are Loved stamp set

Whisper White card stock

Rose Red card stock

Rose Red ink

Splatter from My Digital Studio  Extreme Elements stamp set

Basic Rhinestones

Decorative Label Punch

Big Shot

Elegant Butterfly Punch

Window Frames Collection Framelits

Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder

Paper Piercing Tool

Festive Paper Piercing Pack

Stampin' Pierce Mat

Paper Snips

Instructions:

Fold a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of Rose Red card stock in half, creasing well with a bone folder.

Run a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Whisper White card stock through the Big Shot inside the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder. Adhere this to the card front.

Run the piece with the splatter on it through the Big Shot using the third largest Framelit 

in the Window Frames Collection. Repeat this with a piece of Rose Red card stock using the second largest Framelit.

Use the appropriate piercing mat from the Festive Paper piercing Pack to pierce holes on the white piece to form a frame. Adhere these two pieces together and attach to the card front 

with Stampin' Dimensionals.

On a scrap of Whisper White card stock, stamp the love label in Rose Red. Punch it out with 

the Decoration Label Punch. From a scrap of Whisper White, punch another of the labels. Cut 

this label in half vertically. Adhere it to the back of the stamped label to form a frame around 

the love label. Snip off the little pokey pieces at the center of the label.

Attach this atop the splatter piece with Stampin' Dimensionals.

On a scrap of Whisper White card stock, stamp the flower butterfly in Rose Red. Use the 

Elegant Butterfly Punch to punch it out. Attach the butterfly to the card front with a Stampin' Dimensional.

Add rhinestones to the label and butterfly flowers.

Sending butterfly love your way!

Smiles.

PROMOTING PROMOTIONS

As you may already know, this year Stampin' Up! celebrates their 25th Anniversary! To commemorate and let everyone celebrate this important milestone with them, they will
be releasing many special promotions throughout the year.

They have already begun the celebration by unleashing several promotions:

Running only through January 21, are two Valentine promotions: Valentine Treat Bundle 
and My Little Valentine Promotion.

http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/NA_Valentine_flyer_US.pdf

For Promotion 1, Valentine Treat Bundle, you get not only the precious heart stamp (look at 

the left side of the flyer under "treat giving") but also a package of the cool 1" x 8" treat bags -- all for $5.95, which is actually a 20% savings off what you would pay if buying them separately!

Promotion 2, the Sealed With Love Simply Sent Kit, gives you the darling My Little Valentine stamp set that sells for $9.95. B U T . . . you also get FOR FREE the Sealed With Love Simply 

Sent Kit found on page 35 of the Holiday Catalog. And this kit is a $7.95 value! FOR FREE! 

Remember, both of these promotions run only through January 21. 

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Stampin; Up! has received a great response so far to their experiment in offering single stamps. In fact, they are so pleased with how we all reacted that they are offering ten more NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN images as clear mount single stamps. B U T . . . they will only be available through March 31, 2013. 

The clear block size required for each of the stamps is listed in the flyers.

ASSORTMENT 3  http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/Single_Flyers_Assortment3_US.pdf

ASSORTMENT 4  http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/Single_Flyers_Assortment4_US.pdf

Just keep in mind that these darling single stamps will disappear after March 31! Get them while you can!

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Finally, as part of Stampin' Up!'s 25th anniversary celebration, they will bring back some of their favorite stamp images from the past 25 years and combining them into 12 sets. One of these 12 sets will be released each month during 2013. Along with these great classic images, each "Best Of" set will also include a never-before-seen BRAND NEW image.  

Here is the set you can get for January:

http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/DEMO_Best_of_Birthdays_25th_Year_flyer_NA.pdf

While only one set will be released for each month of 2013, the "Best Of" sets will be available until March 31, 2014. 

P L U S : As a special incentive to collect the entire series of "Best Of" sets of stamps, starting 

in February, Stampin' Up! will include a collector's card and 25-year proof of purchase sticker with every one of the sets. Every time you collect six of these stickers, you can send it in to redeem them for a FREE stamp set of your choice valued up to $14.95. (Free sets must be redeemed no later than April 30, 2014.)

And here is the collector's card that will come with your February "Best Of" set for you to begin collecting your proof of purchase stickers to earn yourself a free stamp set!

http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/Collectors_Card.pdf

Cool stuff, huh? It's so much fun to celebrate an anniversary! Isn't it??

Smiles.

LOVE IN THE WORKS

Valentines have been on my mind recently. So I decided to see what I could come up with in My Digital Studio.

At first, I created my entire image in reds and pinks. Blah. Punch it up a bit, Linda! I opted to keep my heart image in Melon Mambo, a pink. HOWEVER, I thought I would throw in a few snappier colors to make it more fun. So I added Pacific Point, Gumball Green and Crushed Curry.

This is what I've got so far:

OK. I think it's a really good start. My plan now is to take it down to my workshop and add some traditional touches to turn it into a hybrid card. I'll keep you posted as I make progress. 

Smiles.

PURPLE PASSION

How many of you out there love the Stampin' Up! set, Mixed Bunch?? I do! I do! Cheery to the max! Uh oh, I think I may be dating myself . . .

And then, add into the mix the wonderful Blossom punch! And then . . . two of our embossing folders!  And then, two of our purples and Whisper White! A stunning winning combo for sure.

While I comPLETEly understand about the need to retire colors, accessories, etc., to make room for new product, I wish some of them could just linger forEVer! 

A couple of the items I used in this card are retired and gone forever -- unless you are lucky enough to still have some in your stash. 

One of them is the Concord Crush card stock. A dream when paired with Wisteria Wonder (which is not retired yet). I loved the color so much, I purchased a whole package of it so I would have it to use for a long time. 

The fancy brad in the center of the flower is another item I love so much. BUT, can you imagine one of two current products in the center instead: A few of the Antique Brads (page 174 of the big catalog) would work well, OR, how about the wonderful new Designer Builder Brads (page 12 

of the new Spring Catalog)? Ooooh. Aaaaah. 

I love the combination of two different embossing folders, the Elegant Lines Folder and the Vintage Wallpaper folder. It adds a sort of dimensional crisp whimsy.

This was the anniversary card I made for my husband, and normally I would not show you the inside of a personal card. Actually, usually I wouldn't show you the inside of almost any card 

I create -- because there is seldom anything inside to show you. 

I put so so much into designing a card that once I finally get the front finished, I am FINISHED. 

I admire card artists who do just as much work on the inside of the card as they do on the outside. But, it's just not me.

However, this time was different. The flower image begged me to put it inside the card too. 

So I inked it up in the Concord Crush, stamped it off, and added it to the inside panel. I then stamped "Happy Anniversary" in full strength Concord Crush and added it to the flower.

Nice finish, eh? 

Smiles.

UPCOMING ATTRACTIONS

I am excited about the four projects I have for my workshop attendees to create at my Stamp-In on January 14.

Here are close-up sneak peeks of the projects:

I know, I know. I try to vary my color selections at my workshops, and this time, it just turned out that the colors were basically pinks, blues and white. What can I say?! They just worked so well for what I had hoped to accomplish. And I hope you will be pleased with the projects.

Smiles.

BUTTON BUDDIES PIG

Dontcha just love pink and limey green together?? And then add a cute pig with a button snout into the mix -- and you have a winner!

The technique I used on the background has been dubbed Embedded Embossing. An easy technique, it gives a really cool quilted look.

To recreate your own precious pig, here's how you do it:

Supplies:

Button Buddies stamp set

Lucky Limeade card stock

Melon Mambo card stock

Pretty in Pink card stock

Whisper White card stock

Melon Mambo ink

Pretty in Pink ink

Seam Binding Ribbon (this color is retired)

Pink Button

Mini Glue Dots

Big Shot

Square Lattice Embossing Folder

Stampin' Dimensionals

Basic Pearls

3/16" Corner punch

Circles #2 Originals Die

3/4" Circle Punch

1" Circle Punch

Paper Snips

Instructions:

Fold a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of Pretty in Pink card stock in half, creasing well with a bone folder

Using the Big Shot and the Circles #2 Originals die, place a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Melon Mambo 

card stock over the die, and run through to make your four largest circles. From scrap of Melon Mambo, punch out one more circle with the 3/4" Circle Punch. Adhere these five circles to a 

4" x 5 1/4" piece of Lucky Limeade card stock as desired. Run the entire piece through the Big 

Shot inside the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.

Use the 3/16" Corner punch to round all corners of the green, as well as the pink. Adhere the green piece to the card front.

On a scrap of Whisper White card stock, stamp the pig in Pretty in Pink. Cut out carefully with the Paper Snips. Glue a pink button on for her snout. Transfer and attach a small and a large pearl for her eyes. Tie a snippet of the green ribbon in a knot, and attach to her ear with a 

Mini Glue Dot. Adhere the pig to the largest circle with Stampin' Dimensionals.

On a scrap of Pretty in Pink, stamp "thinking about you" or sentiment of choice in Melon Mambo ink. Line up and punch it out with the 1" Circle Punch, and attach to the second largest circle 

with a Stampin' Dimensional.

Pig out!

Smiles.

GUMBALL CANDY HEARTS

I finally added something new to my Etsy shop! Here is a Valentine suitable for anyone, any age.

The Melon Mambo and Whisper White color scheme is snappy and bright. One of the edges from the Tasteful Trim die in the Big Shot finishes the card off nicely.

I used the small heart punch to create each of the candy hearts, and to give them definition and dimension, I popped several of them with Stampin' Dimensionals. The gumball machine and 

its top were hand cut. 

See my Etsy shop by clicking on the link on the right side of my blog.

Smiles.

LAST DAY FIRST DAY

Just wanted to update everyone on the Stampin' Up! seasonal catalogs.

Today is the LAST day you can order from the Holiday Catalog:

http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/CategoryPage.aspx?categoryid=216

A N D . . .

Tomorrow is the FIRST day you can order from the {25th anniversary} Spring Catalog:

http://204.228.150.61/catalogs/flash/en-US/2013_Spring_g8erkd/index.html

To order anything from either of the catalogs, just click on the appropriate link on the right side of my blog. If you would like me to send you a hard copy of the Spring Catalog, just let me know!

Smiles.